Hospital Series 6

Episode
Episode 4
Broadcast Info
2020 (59 mins)
Description
Award-winning Hospital has now returned for a sixth series to the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, a world-leader in the treatment of infectious diseases and one of the biggest NHS Trusts in the country. The Trust’s Barnet Hospital serves one of the oldest populations in London,
with close to one hundred care homes in the borough. This episode focuses on the perpetual challenges of trying to discharge older patients as they experience a bed shortage, alongside the added complexities of covid-19 infection risks. As Autumn begins, the hospital’s Emergency Department is seeing a resurgence of patients after a summer of low attendances. More people are arriving in A&E than almost any other day since last winter, and they are admitting more patients than they are discharging. Every patient being admitted must be tested for covid-19, but the results can take up to 48 hours to com back. Staff must deal with the conundrum of where to place patients, as they must isolate symptomatic patients and manage the constant risk that those without symptoms later test positive. If a patient that was deemed low risk, and therefore placed on a ward, is then found to be Covid positive, all patients that were in proximity to them must isolate - and therefore occupy one of the Hospital’s precious resources - single rooms. This issue, combined with the recurring challenge of older patients staying as in-patients for long periods, means that Barnet’s bed shortage, which was an issue even prior to the pandemic - has suddenly multiplied. As the hospital hits capacity, the brand-new ‘Rainbow Ward’- specifically buil t with a £4million investment during the pandemic to ease the pressure created by covid-19 - stands empty. Building problems have delayed its opening and so the pressure to discharge patients is higher than ever. 78-year-old Sheila is recovering from a heart attack, but her five-week stay has taken its toll and she’s now showing signs of delirium - an acute state of confusion which is causing Sheila to hear voices. Her loneliness and disorientation is exacerbated because patients can no longer have the comfort of family and friends around them, as visitors are still not permitted due to Covid restrictions. Physiotherapist Katie is not only tasked with getting Sheila physically back on her feet, but must also comfort her when she struggles to understand why her family haven’t visited her. Katie is desperate to get Sheila into a rehabilitation centre, rather than a care home, so as not to undo the progress they have made, but with strain on capacity everywhere, this may not be possible. The unexpected consequences of covid-19 also reveal themselves in Anastasia’s story. Suffering with covid-19 at home, she collapsed and sustained a severe break to her ankle. At the hospital, doctors diagnose a pulmonary embolism - a blood clot in the lung - a known effect of the virus. Her ankle break is serious enough to require surgery, but covid-19 increases the risk of death under anaesthetic. Whilst awake, Anastasia endures a painful manual procedure to realign her bones, in-order to prevent long term complications. As cases of the virus continue to rise in the community, the hospital deals with an outbreak in a local care home. Multiple residents are treated, including 91-year-old Betty. She recovers enough to be deemed being medically fit for discharge, and is desperate to return to her care home to see her beloved friends, and boyfriend. NHS guidelines, intended to create bed capacity, say that her discharge from hospital must not be delayed, even though Betty is still Covid positive [and] so the Hospital is faced with a difficult decision. We follow the human stories behind the headlines of staff and patients alike, as they grapple with the extraordinary challenge of operating within the new covid-19 landscape
Genre
Medicine; Business Studies; Science; Biology; Health and Social Care

How to cite this record

The Open University, "Hospital Series 6". https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/ou/search/index.php/prog/237920 (Accessed 10 Jan 2025)