Brain doctors. Part 1, Emergency.

The first programme of three in a series; the first programme is shot at the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, the county's major A&E centre. Neuro-registrar, Tim Lawrence is on call. A patient, Tracy, comes in to A&E with severe head injuries (from a car crash). The patient has swelling on the brain, evident on a scan. The Radcliffe has both adult and paediatric wards with operating theatres running 24/7. Neuro-anaesthetic consultant Vari Spears (?) is in charge of intensive care where Tracey is. Georgia, a teenager, has swelling at the top of her spine which is causing her pain. Jay Jayamohan is in threatre performing surgery on Georgia; there are images of her spinal cord. As more acute admissions arrive; pressure for beds in NICU is evident. Marty is admitted with severe brain swelling caused by a viral illness. Tracey's husband looks at her brain scans; the prognosis is poor. Vari reports a death over the phone and describes how she copes with bereavment. The team try to rouse Martin (Marty). 7 year old Charlie has severe headaches; she is a 'frequent flyer', having had many procedures. She also has dwarfism and a shunt to control the encephalitis which is causing her headaches. Georgia is recovering from her operation. Tim, the registrar, is waiting to be a consultant but has already clocked up a number of years in his current position. Andy takes over from Tim. He talks about being unpopular and turning down patients. Andy takes a call about a 14 year old boy, Adam, with sudden amnesia apparently caused by encephalitis; they have to pierce a hole in his ventricle to release pressure. Jay is called in to operate. A woman is admitted, Wei, she has a brain tumour; her husband collapses with shock. Wei has a third of the tumour removed. However, this will just make her comfortable, not save her life (she wakes up and is confused about what had happened to her). Adam awakes from his surgery. Marty also wakes up. Charlie is still getting headaches and due to go back into surgery. Marty is conscious and speaking with the aid of voice amplifier; 6 months later he has made a full recovery.