Casualty 24/7

Sister Harriet Lindley is running today's shift, the hospital is already busy and there's been a sharp rise in the number of ambulances being called. Consultant Doctor Sue Mason and Sister Benita Wainwright prepare resus for the latest patient, 56-year-old Roy, who has been found unconscious at home.

At Barnsley Hospital the department is facing a big change, eight new junior doctors have joined the close-knit team. Dr Chatburn faces his first medical challenge of the shift when paramedics bring in 57-year-old David with a suspected case of sepsis. It has been triggered by an infection in the tracheostomy tube he relies on to breathe.

Over 300 patients are expected over the next twenty-four hours at Barnsley Casualty and beds are already in short supply. Sister Benita Wainwright is managing the team. Paramedics bring in 59-year-old Wendy with a critical heart condition and there's a complication, she has kidney failure and needs dialysis three times a week.

Over 300 patients will come through the doors of Barnsley Casualty today, and it's down to Sister Jane Hawksworth to make sure they're all seen in good time despite there being more patients than beds and not enough nurses. Advanced Nurse Practitioner Cheryl Barnes answers the red phone and heads to resus.

The front line of Barnsley hospital is its Casualty department and heading the charge is Consultant Doctor Julian Humphrey. Battling to keep the flow of patients moving is Sister Jane Hawksworth but she's got a problem. They're two porters down and it's causing a backlog, but the emergencies keep arriving.

We spend an eventful night shift with Barnsley Hospital's Casualty team. Evenings are a peak time for road traffic collisions and the most critical cases are blue lit straight to Casualty; like thirty-two-year-old Michael who is rushed in by ambulance after he was involved in a serious motorbike accident.

Barnsley Hospital's Casualty Department regularly hits its four-hour patient treatment target. If a patient isn't treated, discharged, or admitted within this window it's known as a breach. In charge is Sister Jane Hawksworth and it's her job to keep the breaches to a minimum but adding to the pressure is a massive backlog of patients from the night shift.

The Barnsley Casualty Department needs staffing round the clock, but today two nurses have phoned in sick. To add to the pressure, Sister Harriet Lindley has clocked on to find a waiting room full of patients. New to the role of Sister, it's up to her to keep the department flowing.

Consultant Doctor Julian Humphrey is leading the shift at Barnsley Hospital's Casualty, but he's not had the kind of start he was hoping for. All but a couple of computers in the department have crashed and while the IT department set to work diagnosing the problem the emergency phone keeps ringing.

Sister Jane Hawksworth has clocked on for a night shift to find every bed in Barnsley Hospital is taken. To get the department moving again Sister Jane and the close-knit Casualty team will have to pull together.

Every day is a busy day at Barnsley Casualty. But when the emergency red phone is ringing off the hook and ambulances are queuing round the block, it takes a special team of nurses to make sure all patients get the level of care they need. Sister Benita Wainwright is leading the team, a day that she describes as "Chaos".

At Barnsley Casualty the team clock on to a backlog of patients waiting to be transferred to wards. With no beds across the entire hospital, Sister Jane Hawksworth is battling to prevent patients being on trolleys for the NHS maximum of 12 hours.

After an extraordinarily busy few days, the team at Barnsley Casualty are struggling to clear the backlog of patients, and new arrivals are waiting up to 5 hours to see a doctor. With the department under strain Nurse Manager Val Parkin heads to the shopfloor to join the frontline staff.

At Barnsley Hospital's Casualty Department, it's an unusual shift with 3 experienced Sisters working together. They don't always have the same approach, but they know how to get things done. Sister Jane Hawksworth is on duty, 'I think the sister team is strong, we are all strong women.'

It's been a busy night at Barnsley Hospital's Casualty Department, so the corridors are already packed full of patients when Sister Benita Wainwright arrives to head the shift. Emergency Nurse Practitioner, Jo Birkenshaw, assesses 78-year-old Paul. He's come to Casualty after being bitten on the nose by a dog and may need reconstructive surgery.

Junior Doctor Jake Mullen oversees the treatment of 17-year-old Dan who is rushed in by ambulance.

Barnsley Casualty is facing one of its toughest shifts to date. With no children's beds available across the whole of Yorkshire and a department filling up with poorly children the hospital is under pressure. The pediatric team battle the lack of beds, treating a range of patients from 3-year-old Ivy who's having a prolonged epileptic fit to 15-year-old Ben with a broken toe.

Sister Benita Wainwright is running Barnsley Hospital's Casualty Department and it's bursting at the seams. Her shift has only just started and she's already struggling to find room for all the patients, 'inevitably I'm in charge and you walk out and it's carnage, and a little bit sinks in me that things I'm sure I've killed unicorns in a past life!'.

Leading the shift at Barnsley Hospital's Casualty Department is Consultant Doctor Julian Humphrey and he's got some news to share - he'll soon be starting a new job in Australia. But he'll have to put thoughts of Down Under to one side for now - the Waiting Room and Treatment Bays are full, and the red phone is ringing.

While people enjoy a most wonderful time of the year, Barnsley Hospital Casualty is open for business as usual, and the team are getting into the Christmas spirit. Consultant Doctor Julian Humphrey is leading the festive shift. His first patient is 82-year-old Michael who has a very slow beating heart.