Britain has never been more grateful for the amazing efforts of its NHS heroes.
Doctors, nurses and all medical staff are working round the clock to keep the country safe as it battles the coronavirus pandemic.
The UK is currently in lockdown in a bid to slow the spread of Covid-19 to enable the NHS to cope.
But courageous medical staff are still going into work to care for those who are ill, often during gruelling and emotionally exhausting shifts.
Channel 5’s Casualty 24/7 takes a look behind the scenes at Barnsley Hospitals Accident and Emergency department.
Viewers joing the team on the day an influx of junior doctors are starting work for the first time.
Among them in Dr Jake Mullen, whose first patient in pensioner, Jean, who has fallen down a flight of wooden steps outside her home and arrived at the hospital by ambulance.
At 84, Jean already suffers from arthritis and Dr Mullen is faced with making the decision about where she needs to be X-Rayed.
He checks with his consultant and gets her the scans she needs to determine he isn’t seriously hurt.
She said: “I saw my life flashing before me, I didn’t think I would be alive when I got to the bottom, but I was.”
Thankfully, Jean hasn’t broken any bones but because she’s having so much trouble moving around Dr Mullen comes up with a plan to help her get back on her feet.
She’s being transferred to the hospital’s short-stay ward for one night, where she’ll be given some physio to help her be more mobile.
Dr Mullen said: “It brightens your day when you come across someone like Jean.
“There are some days you know you’ve made a difference to someone’s life.”
And he reveals how terrifying working in an A&E can feel.
Dr Mullen explains: “You go from having no responsibility to having even little bits of responsibility – it’s terrifying. Even when I had to write my first prescription for paracetamol my hand was shaking.
“My dad was always very caring, he wasn’t a doctor but I think he was the inspiration behind me becoming a doctor.”
- Casualty 24/7 is on Channel 5 at 9pm tonight.
