Akuten 24/7

Casualty 24/7: Every Second Counts

Nurse Chloe treats 88-year-old Enid, who has been knocked over by high-speed winds and has a severe open head wound. She needs to assess Enid quickly in case she’s suffered from a head trauma.

Consultant Doctor Chris Young meets his first patient of the day, 76-year-old Mavis, who is in a critical condition having been hit by a car. She has potential life-threatening injuries all over her body, so the team work quickly to assess the damage.

Last year, 1 in 7 NHS workers were physically abused and today is no different as much-loved health Care assistant Kerry is physically attacked by a patient she was trying to help.

70-year-old Fred is blue-lighted in having suffered a serious fall at home. With a shortage of doctors in the department, he’s taken straight for an urgent x-ray after which he’s transferred to the care of Dr Tom Hawthorne.

The flow of patients at Barnsley Casualty is relentless and today staff are put under even more pressure by patients suffering from the effects of drink or drugs but all need the care of doctors and nurses - whatever their issues.

When a key member of staff calls in sick at the last minute, Sister Rachael’s dream of smooth shift disappears. She must manage a department overflowing with patients, struggling with staff shortages, with longer waiting times and no available beds.

Every bed in the department is occupied but there are still 20 patients waiting for the next one to be vacated. Lead Nurse Steph is already struggling to manage the mounting number of patients when the emergency alarm sounds.

It’s another grueling shift for team at Barnsley Hospital’s Casualty Department. Juggling a backlog of walk-in patients and a constant stream of new ambulance emergencies, they’re struggling to keep waiting times down.

Today, the pace at Barnsley Casualty is relentless; other hospitals in the area are full and as a result, ambulances are being diverted to Barnsley. In one of them is 17-year-old Alex who has had a fit after falling from his bike..

Sister Rachel is running the shift and she’s under pressure with a shortage of cubicles. To make matters worse, IT systems start to fail across the hospital causing chaos for patient flow.

It’s only the start of her shift but Sister Jane Hawksworth has lost count of the number of times the emergency red phone has rung. Resus is completely full of the most ill patients and it’s having a knock-on effect across the whole department.

At Barnsley casualty today, there’s no available beds, no movement on the wards and no patient flow. To make matters worse, the lead nurse in charge, Kelly, is also struggling with a backlog of ambulances waiting with patients needing treatment.

The staff at Barnsley casualty are enjoying an unusually peaceful start to the day and superstition dictates that on days like this, there’s one word that must never be uttered - the Q word!

There’s a new Matron in charge at Barnsley Casualty today - it’s Hannah’s first day in her new role but it’s not going to be an easy one. The department is completely full, there’s no movement and patients just keep on arriving.

The first heatwave of summer has hit Barnsley and it’s adding to the pressure of an already stressful day in casualty for Sister Jane who’s in charge today. The department is hot, stuffy, and bursting with patients all needing emergency treatment.

It’s another relentless shift for the team at Barnsley casualty and running the hub today is Sister Jane. Staff are struggling to meet the 15-minute assessment target time but doing all they can.

It’s a big day at Barnsley Casualty, for the first time since the Covid pandemic hit the UK, staff can finally remove their masks. For some it’s a happy, welcome relief, but others aren’t ready to go mask-free just yet.

It’s the hottest day of the year at Barnsley Casualty. Sister Vicky has the job of keeping patients and staff cool, but with temperatures outside approaching forty degrees, it won’t be easy.

There’s a covid spike at Barnsley Casualty and positive cases are flooding in adding pressure to an already busy day. Sister Rachel is in charge today and because of covid she’s short on space and staff.

Patients are flooding into Barnsley Casualty today and Sister Jane is in charge and up to her eyes. Suddenly a patient who has come in with stomachache goes into labor - she had no idea she was pregnant.