Casualty 24/7

Barnsley Hospital's Casualty Department is in the middle of one of the worst storms in decades, but that doesn't stop casualty being busy.

Sister Jane Hawksworth is running today's shift and she's clocked on to find a department full of patients and there's no beds available in the whole of the hospital.

The pressure is on for Student Doctor Sophie Miles, it's her first shift and she's called to resus to assist in the emergency treatment of 70-year-old Ian. He's in agony with a chronic stomach condition. But his blood pressure is so dangerously low that the doctors can't even begin helping ease his pain, until they can get his blood pressure up.

It's another busy day for the casualty team; Sister Vicky is running the shift and she's battling a doctor shortage due to sickness as well as a high influx of walk-in patients. It's the perfect storm and she'll need to call on her years of experience to keep the shift on track.

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 drinks or drugs, but all need the care of doctors and nurses - whatever their issues. Sister Jane helps a man who has been arrested for being drunk and disorderly - despite being verbally abused by him.

When a key member of staff calls in sick at the last minute, Sister Rachael's dream of smooth shift disappears. Instead, she must manage a department overflowing with patients, struggling with staff shortages, with longer waiting times and no available beds. 44-year-old Gavin woke up with a sore neck after having fallen down the stairs the night before.

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, and all available staff must head to resus to help a fitting patient.

In the hospital carpark, paramedics rush to help 67-year-old Pauline who's fallen out of her car after getting her foot tangled in her handbag strap. Advanced Clinical Practitioner Chantelle immediately takes her to resus and discovers the fall has resulted in a serious injury.

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. He's quickly assessed by Consultant Liz Docherty who needs to find out if a broken neck is the cause of Alex's arm numbness.

It's another busy day for the casualty team with patient numbers unusually high. 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.

In the Ambulance corridor, paramedics have arrived with 83-year-old Joan who is experiencing heart palpitations and low blood pressure. Dr Sue Mason is shocked to discover that Joan also has a broken jaw - an old injury that hasn't healed. As a result, Joan hasn't been able to eat or drink properly for months and has lost four stone in weight.

In pediatrics, seven-month-old baby Elisa has been rushed in after vomiting at home and falling limp. It's all too much for mum Sian who gets emotional when describing the tough time her family has been going through.

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. 61-year-old Kerry has been rushed to Resus with a rapid heart rate.

65-year-old Theresa arrives by ambulance; she started to feel unwell at her slimming club and paramedics suspect she's had a stroke. Her condition suddenly deteriorates and it's up to Physician Associate Wayne and Dr Laura Buxton to get to the bottom of her condition quickly. She needs urgent treatment to limit any possible damage to her brain.

It's another relentless shift for the team at Barnsley casualty and running the hub today is Sister Jane. In one hour alone, 50 patients have arrived and are awaiting assessment - 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. An emergency delivery of ice pops provides temporary relief, but the heat's taking its toll on the hospital generator.

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. Every patient needs swabbing and waiting times are long.

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. There's no time to get her to the delivery suite, so, with the baby about to be born, the obstetrics team come down to casualty.