Emergency Press Pack
Category: Press PackIn the UK’s capital, a world-first system of hospitals, air ambulances and paramedics provides a safety net for 10 million lives. Known as The London Major Trauma System, it has improved survival rates for major trauma patients by 50%. With access right across this system, Emergency is a present-tense medical documentary box-set - four serial episodes following the minute-by-minute decisions trauma teams make to treat the most serious cases: from life-saving interventions at the road-side to A&E critical care, from cutting-edge surgery to painstaking rehabilitation.
Episode Synopsis
Episode 1
54-year-old pedestrian João has been in a collision with a bus in South London. London’s Air Ambulance and an Incident Response Officer specialising in major trauma incidents have been dispatched. João has a serious crush injury to his leg – breaking bone and stripping away his skin. He is sent to King’s College Major Trauma Centre in London, where Orthopaedic Surgeon, Ibraheim, will try to piece together João’s shattered bones, “there is a very high risk we can’t save his leg.”
In Central London, Advanced Paramedic Practitioner Rich is on the night shift. He comments on the “9 million people all doing their own thing…people do silly things…people make mistakes, and they get hurt. If we’re not there, people will die.” He is soon dispatched to 33-year-old accountant, Jeymi, who has suffered serious injuries as a back-seat passenger in a taxi that crashed into a lamppost. She is screaming in pain. Rich diagnoses a femur fracture and is worried about other internal injuries. Her husband William is at the scene and explains that Jeymi was on her way to meet him for his birthday drinks. Rich rushes her to St Mary’s Major Trauma Centre where scans reveal a complex femur fracture that will require emergency surgery if she’s ever going to walk normally again. For Jeymi, a mum of three, she worries she won’t be able to support her family.
Over at The Royal London, Emergency Medicine Consultant, Michael is treating a trauma patient from France. 38-year-old paratrooper, Lance Corporal Lee, was on holiday when he suffered multiple life-threatening injuries after a paragliding accident. His wife Katy is with him and explains he had life-saving surgery to fix his dissected aorta - the main blood vessel that comes from the heart - and French surgeons inserted metalwork to keep his shattered spine together.
Michael is worried that Lee may have damaged his spinal cord as he has lost sensation in his legs. Katy brings the children in to see their dad, “the kids think of their dad as a real-life superhero … I haven’t told them their dad might not walk again.” Michael refers Lee to Orthopaedic Surgeon Pete, who reviews the scans and explains how the impact of his fall has compacted his pelvis and spine, shoving bone into his spinal canal. To fix him will involve high-risk surgery, “we will throw absolutely everything we can to get Lee walking again, but we really don’t know how that’s going to go.”
15-year-old Louie is also at St Mary’s after putting his leg through a glass security door after a disagreement at school. Paediatric Consultant Nick is worried that he has an arterial bleed and calls down vascular surgeons. Paramedics have applied a tourniquet to stem the bleeding from Louie’s leg but if Nick leaves it on for too long, the tissue will start to die which could result in amputation. In CT, Nick removes the tourniquet from Louie’s leg and immediately spots an arterial bleed. He’s declared ‘Code Red’ and sent for emergency surgery. His mum Bobbie-Lee arrives and explains “there was an issue with a few boys at school…I can’t believe it’s got to this point for him to explode and kick in a door.” Vascular Surgeon Usman operates on Louie, “from the volume of blood loss…his life is at risk.”
Episode 2
In this second episode, 33-year-old mum-of-three Jeymi is at St Mary’s Hospital after suffering a serious femur facture and broken knee joint after the taxi she was travelling in crashed into a lamppost. Orthopaedic Surgeon, Rajarshi and his team are carrying out emergency surgery to fix her leg with screws and plates, “it’s a life-changing injury that needs urgent intervention to get her back to her family”. Husband William waits anxiously outside, “the kids are always asking … when is Mum coming back?” Meanwhile, Rajarshi is concerned that the fracture isn’t aligned, “you have to be a perfectionist.” He instructs the team to take out the screws and start again to give Jeymi the best chance of walking again.
Meanwhile, 15-year-old Louie is at St Mary’s after having emergency surgery to repair a severed artery in his leg after he kicked a glass security door at school following a disagreement. As Louie reflects on the accident, he describes how he's “been bullied by these people at school” and how he feels “like I don’t belong anywhere.” Senior nurse Jess helps Louie with his pain and explains “we see a lot of teenagers coming in after having episodes…being bullied at school.” His mum Bobbie-Lee holds his hand, “he’s been through so much, I wonder how he will cope.”
Over at King’s College Hospital in South-East London, Plastic Surgeon, Asmat is treating João, a 54-year-old trauma patient who suffered a crushed leg with significant skin loss when he went under a bus. Asmat describes how “as a plastic surgeon we spend most of our careers trying to make the human body look the best it can possibly look. But, with trauma ...something can really drastically change a whole person.” Surgeons will fix the broken bones and then take skin from parts of João’s body to stretch over the exposed tissue. Asmat admits “if it's not repaired well, we'll end up with an amputation”.
Meanwhile, in the Tactical Operations Centre at London’s Ambulance Service, Flight Paramedic Jason is on the night shift filtering 999 calls to identify the most serious trauma cases. A call comes in and London’s Air Ambulance team are dispatched in their fast response car to a crash involving a motorcyclist. Trauma doctor, Benj reflects on London at night as “this huge cosmopolitan busy beast of a city that just never sleeps … you can almost feel jobs waiting to happen.” When they arrive, 20-year-old Tyler has serious injuries to his right leg, jaw, arm and has blood coming out of his ear. Concerned he may have a possible skull fracture and brain bleed they rush Tyler to St Mary’s Major Trauma Centre. Mum Wendy is with him, “you feel the pain that your child is feeling, like it's your own self."
Across the city at The Royal London, Spinal Surgeon, Brett is treating 38-year-old Paratrooper, Lance Corporal Lee, who had a paragliding accident whilst on holiday in France. He hit the ground at 70 miles per hour, shunting his pelvis up into his spinal cord. Surgeons in France inserted temporary metalwork to keep his shattered spine together which Brett and his team must now remove to try to bring Lee’s spine and pelvis back into the right position. They will then apply “traction” – large weights that hang off Lee's head and knees to slowly stretch out his spine and pelvis. Brett explains “we are working within areas of one or two millimetres between life and death.” Wife Katy awaits the outcome, “I am completely broken inside... I just want him to know I'll be there for him no matter what.”
Back at St Mary’s Major Trauma Centre, 36-year-old Heidi arrives with paramedics after being attacked by several dogs. She has serious wounds to her legs that need emergency surgery. Emergency Medicine Consultant Julian leads the trauma team and is concerned about her low blood pressure, and she may have internal bleeding which could be life-threatening. She’s given an emergency blood transfusion to stabilise her. Her boyfriend arrives in tears. Julian explains that “one of the major things that we've got to watch out for is that psychological trauma... sometimes much worse than just the physical injuries”.
Episode 3
In this third episode, 38-year-old Paratrooper Lee is still at the Royal London Hospital with catastrophic spine, pelvis and leg injuries after a high-speed paragliding accident whilst on holiday in France. After several complex operations, Lee has been lying in “traction” for two weeks, with 30 pounds of weights hanging from his knees and his skull, as doctors attempt to pull his pelvis out from his spinal canal. Today, Spinal Surgeon, Brett, and Orthopaedic Surgeon, Pete, need to complete the job and re-fix his spine and pelvis into their proper position. Wife Katy says “all of our efforts are just going into trying to keep Lee in a positive mindset”. But Lee’s scar tissue around the injury means the pelvis is still jammed in his spine. They now need to carry out an even more risky manoeuvre using bone hooks and levers, something Surgeon Pete describes “as even more medieval”. If this doesn’t work “Lee isn’t going to walk in a meaningful sense of the word”.
In South West London, 86-year-old Veronica is at St George’s Hospital after being in a car accident with her husband Edward. He was removing his ticket at the car park barrier when he careered into a wall. Edward is luckily unscathed but his wife has a severe open ankle fracture, but doctors are concerned there’s a vascular injury causing an unexpected loss of blood. Emergency Medicine Consultant, Sobi is worried that Veronica could lose her foot.
Over at St Mary’s Hospital, 36-year-old Heidi is having surgery after a vicious dog attack. Plastic Surgeon Georgina says the wounds are “certainly the most extensive dog bites that I’ve ever seen.” She meticulously cleans the wounds, cutting away dead and infected skin and identifies the wounds that will require extensive skin grafts, saying it’s too early to know “the extent of Heidi’s psychological damage”.
Also at the Royal London Major Trauma Centre, 56-year-old plasterer Lee is on his way via helicopter after a head-on collision. Emergency doctors took over an hour to extract him from the vehicle and then placed him in an induced coma. He has multiple injuries to his arm, leg and chest and Emergency Medicine Consultant Karim designates him a polytrauma, “it's certainly possible for people to die from that collection of injuries”. Mum Rita worries “will he be able to walk again, will he be able to work again?” Despite the devastating impact of his many injuries, Karim knows that “for every injury that he has, we have a specialist here that is able to deliver state-of-the-art pushing-the-limits care”.
Episode 4
In this final episode, 56-year-old plasterer Lee is at the Royal London Hospital, where he’s coming out of a medically-induced coma following a major car accident five days ago. After several complex surgeries and with one more big operation to go, Orthopaedic Surgeon Pete says “Lee’s body has already been through a hell of a lot, but without fixing his hip socket he won't be able to walk again. He's not out of the woods yet.”
Meanwhile, in Central London, Incident Response Officer Alan is on a night shift with London Ambulance Service. As a scene commander, he is trained to attend the biggest and most complex incidents. He remarks on the night-time economy, “we’ve all become very used to pressing a button and having something arrive on your doorstep within an instant, but it then demands more people on the road”. He’s soon called to Maurilio, a 43-year-old moped delivery driver who has collided with a car. Reports suggest he has blood from the ear and lost consciousness and London’s Air Ambulance also arrives at the scene. He’s soon rushed to St Mary’s Major Trauma Centre. Son Kauan is shocked on hearing about his Dad’s accident, “like someone punched me in the guts and I lost air”.
At the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford, Kent, 78-year-old Ronald is rushed in by paramedics after injuring himself whilst horse-jumping. He has severe abdominal pain and blood in his urine. Emergency Medicine consultant Jon suspects damage to his pelvis and internal bleeding and sends Ron for a CT. Ron is on blood thinners and Jon explains that an internal bleed, “will be very, very difficult for us to stop… it could be time-critical, and it could be life-threatening.” Ronald is urgently transferred by air ambulance to King’s College Hospital.
At King’s, Orthopaedic Surgeon, Ibraheim will try to fix Ron’s pelvis and find the source of the bleed. But in a dramatic turn of events, Ron suddenly loses “about half a litre of blood”. Given that Ron is on blood thinners, Ibraheim must work fast to stop the bleeding as “Ron’s life is in danger.”
Following intense rehabilitation at St Mary’s Hospital, 36-year-old Heidi is now at home recovering after a devastating dog attack. She reflects on how determined she was to get better and whilst examining the post-surgical scars on her arms and legs says, “I don’t like looking at it... but I’m lucky to be alive.”
Finally, we revisit the patients filmed across the series to reveal the outcomes after their traumatic injuries.
Facts about the London Major Trauma System
• Trauma is one of the major challenges of modern society. It kills 6 million people a year worldwide and 16,000 in the UK – and this number is rising.
• Trauma is the leading cause of death in those under the age of 44.
• For every trauma fatality, between three and four patients survive with a serious or permanent disability
• The London Major Trauma System is a unique network of 39 hospitals made up of 4 major trauma centres and 35 trauma units, ambulance services and air ambulance services.
• It was set up in 2010, celebrating its 10-year anniversary in 2020
• The four major trauma centres are all based in London and sit at the heart of a regional network. The Royal London Hospital - North East London and Essex St George’s Hospital - South West London and Surrey King’s College Hospital - South East London, Kent and Medway St Mary’s Hospital - North West London
• The 35 trauma centres are hospitals in Greater London and the home counties.
• The London Major Trauma System as whole treats over 12,000 people each year, including the smaller trauma centres and rehab.
• Survival rates increased by 50% over 5 years, saving an estimated 610 lives – more than a 747 plane full of passengers.
This series was filmed during the busiest two weeks at the end of July 2022, filming 24/7 across the four major trauma centres, London’s Ambulance Service, London’s Air Ambulance Charity and two trauma units – William Harvey in Kent and North Middlesex Hospital.
We filmed patients throughout the trauma pathway. From roadside critical interventions, through resus to ICU, from surgery to rehabilitation to reflect the variety of specialist treatment that went into saving patients’ lives and putting them back together again.
Patient Biographies
In episodes 1, 2 & 4
54 year-old João is Portuguese and works as a handyman. He lives with his wife, children and grandchildren. He leads an active life, often finishing work and spending hours on his allotment, his pride and joy.
When João is struck by a double-decker bus, part of its wheel goes over him, causing severe injuries to his right leg. Passers-by dialled 999 then paramedics and London’s Air Ambulance arrive on scene. João is rushed to King’s College Hospital when it’s confirmed he has an open fracture (where the bone has forcefully pierced through the skin) to his tibia and a fractured fibula (the calf bone). In addition, Joao has suffered a de-gloving injury behind his knee, which tore away layers of skin and tissue, exposing muscle, tissue and bone beneath. Without immediate surgery João could lose his leg.
João's wife, Celina, is worried and scared that he may die. He goes to the operating theatre for two pivotal procedures. The first is to fix the fractures, and the second involves the process of grafting skin from João's thigh to reconstruct the tissue he has lost behind his knee.
The medical team gently forewarn João and his family that physiotherapy, the battle against infection and the painstaking process of bones healing are all to come, with no guarantee of an easy road ahead. Daughter Decia can’t help but worry that even if João recovers from the surgeries, it’s going to be a long time until he is the person he used to be.
Jeymi
In episodes 1,2 & 4
33 year-old Jeymi is an accountant and devoted Mum to her three children. Her journey with husband, William, began at the tender age of 15, and today, they live in North London, bringing up their family together. Jeymi finds herself in the back seat of a taxi, en-route to celebrating her husband's birthday when the cab collides with a lamppost, and the evening takes an unexpected turn.
She calls William who rushes to the scene and is visibly shocked at how serious the injury is. Paramedics suspect a fractured femur (thigh bone) and have concerns about a pelvic injury, and so Jeymi is rushed to St Mary’s Hospital.
In resus, William holds Jeymi's hand, offering unwavering support as the orthopaedic team work to realign her fractured bone – an essential procedure to safeguard the nerves and blood vessels around her thigh bone. She’ll be needing an urgent operation and William faces the heart-wrenching prospect of breaking the news to their children, whilst desperately hoping everything will be alright.
Jeymi, anxious about the responsibilities of her full-time job, grapples with the reality of her injury and its impact on her ability to provide for her family. She knows there will be challenges ahead as complete recovery could take up to two years. However, under the guidance and encouragement of physiotherapist, Luke, Jeymi summons the strength to take those initial steps towards walking and regaining her independence — motivated by her need to get home to her kids.
Lee C
In episodes 1, 2, 3 & 4
38-year-old Lance Corporal Lee is a dedicated paratrooper in the Army. He has served on two tours of Afghanistan and one of Iraq and is a member of The Parachute Regiment's freefall team, the Red Devils. Beyond his military service, Lee is a thrill-seeker, and his passion extends to extreme sports like skydiving and speed-flying, a sport similar to paragliding. Lee and partner, Katy, have been together for 14 years, living in Wiltshire with their two children.
Life took an abrupt and sobering turn for Lee four weeks ago during a speed-flying accident whilst on holiday in France. A catastrophic crash left him with life-threatening injuries, including a torn aorta (main artery supplying blood to the body), punctured lungs, multiple broken ribs, fractures to both legs, and a pelvic spinal injury where fragments of his broken pelvis lodged into his spinal canal.
After initial life-saving treatment at a hospital in France, he is flown to the UK. On arrival, Lee is assessed by the Emergency Medicine team at the Royal London. Lee and Katy haven’t seen their children for a month, and for Katy, who is trying to remain strong by her husband's side, the prospect of telling them their Dad might never walk again is a daunting and heart-wrenching task.
Given the extent of his injuries, Orthopaedic Surgeon Pete and Spinal Surgeon Brett are astonished at the fact that Lee survived the crash. Lee, who has done over 5000 skydives, is used to pushing the limits but he faces a long hospital stay with high-risk, complex surgeries and the application of traction to realign his spine. For two weeks, he eats, sleeps, and does daily tasks while lying flat on his back—describing it a profound wake-up call, a reminder that humans are not invincible.
Katy focuses on maintaining Lee's positive mindset as he faces additional operations to fix the bones in his legs, shattered pelvis and spine. The possibility of learning to walk again remains uncertain, as they await the assessment of any nerve damage. Lee's training and experience in the Army helps him find strength and resilience, and both he and Katy are determined to navigate the road to recovery together.
Louie
In episodes 1, 2 & 4
15-year-old Louie lives in West London with his Mum. In a moment of frustration stemming from a disagreement at school, he kicked his leg through the glass in a security door and fearing his leg had broken, quickly called for an ambulance.
Louie is taken to St Mary’s where his wound raises concerns about potential damage to a major artery in his leg and he’s sent for a CT scan to establish the source of the bleeding.
When a tourniquet is cautiously removed from his wound, there’s a significant bleed and Louie is declared 'code red,' (setting in motion a coordinated effort by the medical teams to prepare for a patient facing a large volume of blood loss) - to prevent potential death.
Louie's mother, Bobbie-Lee, anxiously awaits news; when Louie initially called her after the accident, she hadn’t realised the severity of his injury, assuming it would merely require a couple of stitches and he’d be returning home. Their bond is strong, and she describes him as "a lovely, lovely kid" who is not afraid to stand out and be himself. Both shocked and terrified she finds herself thrust into what she considers "every parent's worst nightmare."
In theatre, vascular surgeons stem the bleeding and colleagues painstakingly reconstruct the damaged soft tissue around the wound, conducting nerve checks to ensure his leg retains both movement and feeling.
Bobbie-Lee knows he has been through so much and wonders how Louie will cope when he “comes out the other side”. On the ward, physiotherapist Sinead recognises the profound physical and psychological trauma that Louie has gone through, helping him regain his mobility by teaching him to walk again, and addressing the emotional scars left by his injury.
Tyler
In episodes 2 & 4
Tyler, 20 years old, lives with his mum, Wendy in North London, where he works at a local bar. He describes himself as “still young” and “thinking I can do anything”.
However, his sense of invincibility is shattered when, riding his moped through the streets of Camden, he’s involved in a high-speed collision with a car. Paramedics, police and London's Air Ambulance Charity arrive to find Tyler lying on the ground in pain. With a suspected right ankle fracture, blood coming out of his ear and vomiting, the team suspect a serious head injury, transferring him to St Mary's trauma centre.
Wendy describes Tyler as “my world … my everything” and is understandably anxious to know whether he has any life-threatening brain injuries.
Later, up on the ward, Wendy explains how she’d been in complete shock, at one point not knowing whether her son would live or die and emphasises how fragile life is. Whilst recovering from surgery to his ankle, Tyler’s focus is on continuing to rehabilitate physically and healing emotionally from his experience.
Heidi
In episodes 2, 3 & 4
Heidi, a resilient 36-year-old, lives in North London with her partner. Described by her older sister as ‘the baby of the family’, her life takes a nightmarish turn when she is viciously attacked by five dogs shortly after preparing herself a meal in the kitchen.
The aftermath of the attack leaves Heidi with multiple puncture wounds and deep flesh injuries across her legs, arms, and chest - resulting in significant blood loss. Feeling numb and in a state of shock, she arrives at St Mary's Hospital with low blood pressure - which raises immediate concerns. Heidi receives a blood transfusion and the team work to identify all the wounds on her body. Her boyfriend is shocked and emotional when he arrives in resus and is assisted by staff.
Plastic Surgeon Georgina does a surgical procedure to clean the high number of bite wounds, to remove dead tissue, protecting against the threat of infection and the risk of Heidi losing her leg.
Heidi's recovery requires not only physiotherapy but also support to address the impact of the emotional and physical scars following the attack. Growing up around dogs, Heidi feels it is essential to rebuild her trust in them, a testament to her courage and determination to “step forward not back”.
Veronica
In episodes 3 & 4
86-year-old Veronica lives in South London with Edward, her husband of 63 years. They’re both chatty and full of character, with Edward saying he “couldn’t have a better wife” who is cheerful and has “always got a laugh”. They’re described by their daughter as being totally devoted to each other, an inseparable couple who go everywhere together – usually holding hands.
Edward was driving into a car park when he accidentally accelerated into a wall. The impact leaves them both injured: Veronica with an open ankle fracture and broken nose; Edward with a cut to his arm.
At St George's Hospital, Edward is admitted to the Urgent Care Centre and Emergency Medicine consultant Sobi treats Veronica in resus. Sobi is concerned about Veronica’s substantial blood loss from her ankle and a potential underlying vascular injury – something which increases the risk of her losing her foot.
We witness doctors realigning Veronica’s bone to improve blood flow to her foot and the heart-warming moment when Veronica is reunited with Edward, side by side in their hospital beds. The Orthopaedic team schedule urgent surgery, despite a heightened risk due to Veronica's age and operate into the early hours of the morning to fix Veronica's dislocated ankle.
Veronica remains in hospital and with the assistance of physiotherapists and occupational therapists, learning how to use crutches, a crucial step in her path to recovery. Finally, she is discharged and back in the comfort of her home, with the unwavering support of her devoted husband.
Lee P
In episodes 3 & 4
56-year-old Lee, a plasterer and West Ham supporter from Essex, was in a head-on collision with another vehicle.
Emergency response teams had to cut the roof off his car to free him from the wreckage. In a critical condition, he was airlifted by the Kent, Surrey and Sussex Air Ambulance to the Royal London Hospital.
Upon arrival in resus, Lee is intubated, and a CT scan reveals severe injuries including fractures of the femur, tibia, fibula, a collapsed lung and a hip dislocation. Chest drains are inserted to alleviate the pressure on his lungs caused by accumulating fluid. Lee is classified as a ‘polytrauma’ case, each severe injury warranting specialised treatment from specific medical teams.
While in a medically induced coma, Lee is transferred to intensive care. Orthopaedic Surgeons operate on his shattered tibia (the shin bone) and his broken arm, and Plastic Surgeons operate using the "free flap" technique, taking skin, tissue, and blood vessels from Lee's other leg to cover the open wounds where skin and tissue have been lost.
When told about his injuries, Lee’s Mum, Rita, “cried and cried” as she thought he was brain dead. However, after several operations, she starts to believe he will make it, “as he’s in good hands” but worries if he’ll ever be able to walk and return to his job as a plasterer.
Lee requires further surgery to address his fractured hip socket and then months of physiotherapy lay ahead. It’s a long journey to recovery if he’s ever to get back to work.
Maurilio
In episode 4
Maurilio, a 43-year-old delivery driver from Brazil, lives in North London with his wife, Cate, and their teenage children. Cate and Maurilio have known each other since they were 5 years old and married when they were 16. They lived in Japan for 10 years and then moved to the UK.
Maurilio’s life revolves around providing for his family and whilst out at work on his moped, he’s in a serious collision when he T-bones into a car. London Ambulance Service (LAS) call handlers are informed that Maurilio is not breathing and lost consciousness, so London’s Air Ambulance Charity is sent to the scene. Doctors need to rule out brain injury and Maurilio is transported to St. Mary's Hospital where the full extent of his injuries are assessed.
When wife Cate receives photos of the crash on her phone, she doesn’t know if her husband will survive and, both she and her son Kauan, rush to the hospital and wait nervously for news.
Fortunately, there are no life-threatening injuries, but Maurilio has a severe break in his forearm and a dislocated wrist; he’ll need an operation to save his arm.
Concerned he can’t work and bring food to the table, he has the support of his family as he fights to get back the full use of his arm.
Ronald
In episode 4.
Ronald, aged 78, is a keen horse-rider living in rural Kent. Described by son Des as “always on the go” Ronald was out riding, when his horse jumped, and his body landed forcefully onto the saddle, leaving him with unexpected pain in his abdomen. He initially doesn’t go to hospital, opting to stay at home, but as the night wears on he struggles to walk, and the next day, wakes up in agony. Fearing there might be something serious going on, he seeks help at his local trauma unit, William Harvey Hospital.
Doctors identify a ruptured blood vessel in his abdomen which, because Ronald is on a blood thinner, could be time-critical and life-threatening. He is transferred by air ambulance to the closest major trauma centre, King’s College Hospital.
Son Des describes how they’d always been a “close knit solid family” until he lost his Mum 9 years ago. Ronald and his wife had shared an interest in horses, and despite his sadness, Ronald kept riding as something to remember his wife by. Describing him as ‘a tower of strength’ and ‘Mr Invincible’, Des shares that he doesn’t want anything to happen to Ronald.
Orthopaedic Surgeons confirm that Ronald has fractured his pelvis. The pelvic area is one of the riskiest for orthopaedic surgery, containing vital blood vessels and when he unexpectedly starts losing a significant amount of blood in theatre, the surgical team work quickly to control the bleed, ultimately saving his life. Back on the ward, Ronald receives news that his pelvic repair is complete and that he’ll not only regain the ability to walk but can also look forward to one day getting back in the saddle.
Staff Biographies
Dr Nick Ward is a Paediatric Emergency Medicine Registrar at St Mary’s Hospital. Nick leads the team when Louis arrives in resus with an injured leg, having kicked a glass door. 15-year-old Louis has a potential arterial injury and Nick is concerned that if the tourniquet applied to his leg is left on for too long, the tissue could be starved of oxygen and could die; however, removing the tourniquet may result in Louie losing a life-threatening volume of blood.
Rich McGirr is an Advanced Paramedic Practitioner (APP) in Critical Care at London Ambulance Service. He joined in 2003 and has twenty years of frontline experience. Rich is on scene when Jeymi, a back seat passenger in a cab, is injured in a collision. Concerned about a serious femoral and potential pelvic injury, he bypasses the local hospital and transports Jeymi to St Mary’s. Rich originally worked as a forensic scientist but in his late 20s, decided to retrain as a critical care paramedic and is now proud to be part of the trauma system. He is also on scene at a crash where a car has overturned. He takes a lot of pride in what he does for a living and insists he’ll be doing this job until he retires.
Dr Dan Birley is a Trauma Doctor working for London’s Air Ambulance Charity. He describes it as London Trauma Network’s mobile emergency department, because they are only activated when life or limb are at risk, bringing the hospital to the patient. Dan and his team work closely with paramedics to get patient João to King’s Major Trauma Centre when there’s concern his leg is at risk of being lost after being hit by a double-decker bus. Dan has been to multiple patients who’ve been injured by buses and some of them unfortunately haven’t survived. “Encountering death and injury is inherent in our jobs ... makes you more aware of just how precarious life can be”.
Jonathan Merefield is an Advanced Paramedic Practitioner (APP) in Critical Care at London Ambulance Service. He is seen in the control room at London Ambulance’s Tactical Operations Centre, where he is providing advice to crews and patients via phone. He also dispatches fellow APPs to the most seriously ill and injured patients across the capital.
Prof Usman Jaffer is a Consultant Vascular Surgeon at St Mary’s Hospital. He operates on 15-year-old Louis, who severed his artery when he put his leg through a pane of glass and who is bleeding heavily with his life at risk. Usman works with the surgical team to stop the bleeding and reconstruct the soft tissue around the blood vessels in Louis’ leg.
Graham Jones is an Incident Response Officer (IRO) for London Ambulance Service. He responds to and oversees complex incidents or situations involving multiple patients – and supports the welfare of London Ambulance Service staff and volunteers on scene. Despite never knowing what to expect from his job, Graham describes how he loves working in London, in one of the busiest ambulance services in the world.
Mr Ibraheim El-Daly is a Consultant Trauma & Orthopaedic Surgeon at King’s College Hospital, specialising in pelvic and acetabular (hip socket) trauma and lower limb trauma. Ibraheim describes the responsibility he feels to his patients, the unpredictable nature of his surgical workload and how everyone prepares for surgery differently … with lots of coffee a plus for him! He operates on João, a pedestrian whose leg is crushed by the wheel of a double-decker bus. In episode 4, Ibraheim operates on Ronald, to fix his unstable pelvis and remove blood that’s collected in his abdomen.
Mr Pete Bates is a Consultant Trauma & Orthopaedic Surgeon at the Royal London Hospital. His subspecialty interest is polytrauma (patients with multiple injuries) and the treatment of pelvic & acetabular (hip joint socket) fractures. He treats paratrooper Lee C, who has a serious spine and pelvic injury and little function in his legs. Pete realigns Lee’s dislocated spine; it’s one of the most severe injuries he’s seen. He also operates on polytrauma patient Lee P, who’s been in a head-on collision, to repair his complex hip socket fracture. Pete says “we’re the carpenters, we’re the chippies, we’re the builders and bricklayers of medicine … orthopaedics is a very technical specialty … there are biological aspects which you have to get right … but we are manual workers!”
Prof Rajarshi Bhattacharya is a Consultant Orthopaedic & Trauma Surgeon at St Mary’s Hospital. He is a lower limb specialist and performs reconstructive surgery on Jeymi, who fractured her thigh bone, when travelling in a mini-cab that crashed. The fracture goes down to the knee joint which is badly broken and in need of reconstruction.
Jason Morris is one of London’s Air Ambulance Chairity’s (LAA) longest-serving Flight Paramedics and has been awarded a Queen’s Ambulance Medal in recognition of his 22 years of service with the London Ambulance Service. He spearheaded improvements in LAS’ control rooms including GoodSAM instant-on-scene video technology which allows clinicians to remotely access a caller’s smartphone camera to quickly understand patients’ injuries to better provide resources & advice before crews arrive on scene. Jason is seen in the Tactical Operations Centre where he filters through the 999 calls, looking for the most serious trauma cases to decide whether to dispatch an LAA helicopter during the day or an LAA medical team in a car at night.
Dr Benjamin Marriage is a Trauma Doctor with London’s Air Ambulance Charity (LAA). He describes London as a city that never sleeps and how at night, in the dark and amongst the chaos, you can almost feel jobs waiting to happen. Benj is dispatched to an incident in Camden, London, to care for 20-year-old Tyler who has come off his moped. After examining Tyler, Benj goes into ‘detective mode’, analysing the scene plus mechanism of injury and on suspecting a potential head injury, transports Tyler to St Mary’s Trauma Centre.
Mr Asmat Din is a Consultant Plastic & Reconstructive Surgeon at King’s Hospital. We see Asmat work alongside orthopaedic surgeons to repair Joao’s lower leg, which was crushed after he was hit by a double-decker bus. Asmat uses an air-powered dermatone to take skin grafts from one of Joao’s thighs to reconstruct skin that has been lost from behind his knee.
Ian McIntyre is one of London’s Air Ambulance Charity’s (LAA) Flight Paramedics. Ian is in the Tactical Operations Centre control room where he must listen in and triage the 999 calls to make sure advanced resources are sent to the most critically-ill patients. He describes it as quite challenging when multiple serious-sounding calls come in at the same time, ‘a bit like a computer game … you’ve got to match up the resources that you’ve got - to the patients in need.’ Prof Julian Redhead is an Emergency Medicine Consultant at St Mary’s Hospital and leads the trauma team response when 36-year-old Heidi arrives in hospital with multiple dog bites and blood loss. He is concerned about her low blood pressure and stresses the importance of understanding where the blood loss is from as if there in ongoing bleeding, it could be life-threatening.
Sinead Brereton is a Physiotherapist at St Mary’s Hospital and works with 15-year-old Louis, who severed an artery in his leg, after kicking a glass panel in a door. Following a life-saving operation, Sinead aims to get Louis up and out of bed to try and start walking for the first time. Taking things slowly, she describes how this type of injury can be very traumatic from both a physical and psychological perspective.
Mr Brett Rocos is a Consultant Orthopaedic and Spinal Surgeon at the Royal London Hospital, managing patients with a range of complex spinal problems, including those caused by major trauma. He operates on Lee after a paragliding accident in France caused catastrophic injuries to his spine and pelvis, leaving him unable to stand or walk. Brett operates to remove metalwork in the spine then stretch Lee’s skeleton out using traction; he later operates again to connect Lee's spine to his pelvis.
Dr Sobi Gangeswaran is an Emergency Medicine Consultant at St George’s Hospital, managing trauma patients when they first come to hospital. She cares for 86-year-old Veronica who’s sustained an open ankle fracture in a collision. When Veronica has an unexpected bleed from her wound, Sobi leads the trauma team response.
Dr Tobi Roberts a Trauma & Orthopaedic Registrar at St George’s Hospital. He is called to urgently assess 86-year-old Veronica’s open ankle fracture, as the bone has come out of the skin and the wound is bleeding heavily. It needs an operation that same evening to prevent the bone from dying and infection from taking hold.
Miss Georgina Williams is a Consultant Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon at St Mary’s Hospital. Georgina operates on 36-year-old Heidi’s multiple dog bite wounds to remove all the dead tissue from the injuries; she explains that dogs have incredibly strong jaws and bites that classically cause a lot of damage to the skin and soft tissue.
Dr Karim Ahmad is an Emergency Medicine Consultant at Royal London Hospital, who cares for 56-year-old Lee after a head-on collision. Lee is intubated with multiple injuries to different parts of his body, and Karim must urgently get him to the CT scanner to assess his injuries whilst leading the trauma team response.
Francesca Wong is a Physiotherapist at Royal London Hospital, supporting injured patients as they begin to mobilise again. After multiple surgeries to fix the bones in his pelvis, back and legs, Francesca works with paratrooper Lee to get him out of bed and up and walking. Francesca explains those first few steps are just the beginning of the journey for Lee and the next couple of years of rehab will be a challenge.
Alan Morgan has been in London’s Ambulance Service for 17 years and is an Incident Response Officer (IRO). His role as scene commander is to co-ordinate the response at large incidents, particularly road traffic collisions (RTCs) and violent crime, ensuring it is safe for medical teams to attend so they can concentrate fully on treating patients. He is co-ordinating on scene when 43-year-old Maurilio, a delivery driver, is knocked off his moped in Camden, London.
Dr Jon Leung is an Emergency Medicine Consultant at the William Harvey Hospital, in Ashford, Kent. He also works as a pre-hospital Emergency Medicine doctor for the Kent, Surrey and Sussex Air Ambulance. Jon leads the trauma team treating 78-year-old Ronald after a horse-riding injury. Following a CT scan, he believes one of Ronald’s blood vessels has ruptured, because of the injury, and needs an urgent transfer to King’s Hospital in London where he can be treated by their specialists.
Peter Crean is an Operational Manager within London Ambulance Service where he has worked for 22 years. He is based in the control room at the Tactical Operations Centre where he scans calls to pick up on those that are trauma.
For further details please contact Steve Rosier (SRosier@channel4.co.uk)