Episode 2 Keeping Britain Alive: The NHS in a Day

18th October, 2012...

Across Britain, 100 cameras are filming the NHS on a single day.

CAMPAIGNER: This change will be a disaster. CHEERING

On this day, more than 1.5 million of us will be treated.

Three days ago, you had a stroke.

1,500 of us will die.

2,000 will be born.

EXHALES

ALARM SOUNDS

The NHS is the largest public health care system in the world.

We want that to be in your voice all the time.

Can I help you?

We rely on it...

-You're really brave.

-..complain about it.

In the bin. That's because of you.

Often, we take it for granted.

Lucas! Lucas!

What we expect from the NHS is ever-increasing.

The money to pay for it isn't.

If we could see what this institution does in a single day...

..what would it make us think?

This entire series tells the story of one day.

So why isn't she waking up?

100 cameras...

..capturing the NHS as you've never seen it before.

Baby born at five to three.

-NEWSREADER:

-It's six o'clock on Thursday, the 18th of October.

Um...it could be any number of things that's wrong with this guy.

-NEWSREADER:

-The headlines this morning: Plans by the government...

SHE WHISPERS

-Is she still asleep?

-Yes.

All right?

-You still asleep?

-Dozing.

HE KISSES HER

I got a couple of hours. I had a few really peculiar dreams.

You were taking the Christmas tree down and I got caught in it.

Next thing, I was on a boat, going up a river, really fast.

-I know, weird dreams.

-SHE CHUCKLES

Alan's wife Ann has been ill with kidney failure for three years.

He's been looking after her and bringing her to hospital

three times a week for life-saving dialysis.

See you later. Take care.

-Yeah. Look after yourself.

-Don't worry yourself.

-I'm not worried.

-I haven't even got butterflies yet.

-Oh, all right!

But this afternoon, that could all end.

Ann will become one of nine people in Britain to receive a new kidney today.

Your hospital number, by any chance?

No, I've never hardly been in hospital.

All right. I'm just going to look at your tummy, if that's OK.

We'll keep everything covered. That's lovely. Fantastic.

We're going to take this kidney out.

-I'll just pop an arrow there, if that's all right.

-Yeah.

When I make the cuts on your tummy,

I'm going to make a cut just about here on your tummy, in the midline.

That's where we're going to take the kidney out, OK?

I'll make a little cut up here and probably two on this side.

-Is that all right?

-Yes.

-OK, lovely.

One of the things that we have to do, Alan, is,

if something was to happen to Ann after your kidney has come out,

what would you like to happen with the kidney?

It can go to somebody else on the waiting list.

Your kidney could go to research

or we could put the kidney back into yourself.

Or we could dispose of the kidney.

No, I've already said, I'd give it to someone else. I've signed it.

OK. Thank you.

'We've been together for so long.

'Don't ask me how many years, because I don't know. It's about 36, I think.

'I think it's 36.'

I don't normally like being in hospital, because I've hardly ever been in hospital.

So, yeah, I'd rather be at home.

You have to do these things, sometimes.

You've got to keep your wife happy! HE CHUCKLES

Are you happy with that?

I like to always do my make-up first thing in the morning,

because it makes me, personally, feel better

and I feel that I can face the day better.

So always, I do my make-up, every day.

I do forget, when I wake up sometimes, how ill he is, yes.

He's in bed at the moment. I'll get him up when I've done my make-up.

Once he gets up, I dread what the day will bring.

I don't think he accepts that he's got dementia.

So I just refer to it as his memory loss.

Bob? Cup of tea, dear.

-We've got to go up the hospital today.

-Who has?

-You have.

-Why?

-You're going to have a little test, dear, for your memory.

What? Go to the hospital for a test for my memory? What you on about?

It's not very good, dear, so they're going to give you a little test for your memory

-and you're going to see Dr Walker.

-Just tell them I forgot to go.

We can't do that, dear, when she's agreed to see you.

-Well, my memory's gone! I forgot!

-No, you have to go.

I'm not going up the hospital.

Come downstairs when you've had your tea and we'll have some toast

and see how you feel. We normally go. You've been before.

-You go every six to nine months.

-The hospital?

-Mm.

We can't let her down, Bob, can we?

Last time, she gave you some tablets that really helped for a while.

-Who did?

-Dr Walker.

-What for?

-You've just got to have a couple of tests.

-Who has?

-You have, dear.

I'm not going to the hospital, right? Forget it.

A pretty serious piece of kit, this is.

Yeah, this is called a Dinamap.

This takes his blood pressure,

his pulse and his oxygen

saturations on air. Erm...

Let's just hope I can work it.

I'm keeping an eye out for my patient.

One eye on the CCTV and one voice on the phone.

I've got another patient, it's called multi-tasking.

Only women can do it.

Come on, Kerry.

Oh, I hope you haven't stopped for a pint on the way.

He did assure me, and has assured me,

that his last drink would be 4 o'clock yesterday afternoon.

So we can just hope he's running late because of buses and nothing else.

My anxiety levels are now going through the roof.

Cheryl's first patient is Kerry Webber.

A former boxing champion, he gave up the sport 20 years ago

and has been drinking heavily ever since.

He's starting a detox programme today

and is one of over 130,000 people in Britain

being treated for alcohol dependency.

'If you are dependent on alcohol,'

to stop drinking like that can be extremely dangerous.

'People do have seizures and become very unwell.'

The old saying is, "You can't die from not taking heroin,

"but you can die if you stop drinking, very quickly."

OK, this is your home for the day. This isn't a prison.

If you want to smoke, you've got to go just outside the gates.

-OK.

-Feel free to do so. Would you like tea or coffee?

I'd like a cup of coffee, I would.

A cup of coffee. OK, so we'll do all these obs, we'll get that first.

We'll do the clinical stuff first,

then I'll do the looking after you, go and make you a nice cup of coffee.

-OK.

-All right?

-Thank you very much.

-No problem.

I drink a good eight to ten pints of Strongbow a day

and I'm up at 4 o'clock in the morning, then.

Freezing cold, but boiling hot, dripping sweat.

It's just like cold turkey, all the time.

Your body's so used to it

and you've got to keep it going, prolong it going

until you're ready for bed again.

It's like you drink to get yourself tired

and then recycle the same thing in the morning.

I'm going to breathalyse you now.

-OK.

-Right.

-All right, you know the procedure, deep breath.

-Yeah.

-And I'll tell you when to blow. OK.

MACHINE BLEEPS

Blow...

MACHINE BLEEPS

That's it.

-You've come up green, which indicates you haven't been drinking this morning....

-No.

-..which is good. It shows you've got no alcohol in your system.

-Great.

Throughout the day, Cheryl will monitor and treat Kerry's withdrawal symptoms.

-You're aware of who's in the room with you.

-Yeah, I'm aware.

-Tell me who's in the room?

-Cheryl.

-Yeah.

-And two cameramen.

-And you.

-And myself.

-And nobody else, you can't see anything else?

-Nothing else.

-No, OK.

-Who am I?

-Cheryl.

-And what's my role?

Nurse, erm...

..drug-related officer.

-And drink.

-That's right.

Can you hold your arms out for me, Kerry. Tremors?

I'm shaking inside more than outside.

There we go, first two tablets of the day.

OK.

Sometimes, I'll tell a little white lie,

so I can get him to the hospital.

I'll say, we're going to go out for a meal

and then I'll go on my journey and then tell him

that we're going to pop in there first.

I actually might try that, in a minute,

because once he's in the car, he will probably be fine.

He might have a little shout, but he will go,

so I think that's what I'll try.

What we'll do, then, if you like, have a wash and change

and we'll go out and have something to eat and we'll just pop in there on the way back.

-Pop in where?

-Just to have your little test.

-No! What test?

Well, you've got to go, dear.

What are you talking about, I've got to go?

Shall we just go out for a meal? If you have a wash, we'll go out for a meal.

-All right.

-Right?

I'm not going to no bloody hospital.

No, all right, we're going to go out for a meal, because we haven't done anything for ages.

-Do you want to do that?

-That's all right.

-All right.

You go in the bath and have a wash and I'll put your clothes on the bed.

It did work. He will show off, then, when he knows where we're going.

So you will have to put up with a bit of shouting,

but that wasn't bad, was it?

-Is that a relief for you?

-Yes, but we're not there yet, are we?

We've got to get him out yet.

SHE LAUGHS

I'm just going to get my handbag and that ready, OK?

-Hang on, dear, I'm just going to get your shoes.

-I've got a pair of shoes on.

-No, you've got to put your tan ones on, dear.

-What's wrong with these?

Erm, the tan ones look better. I've polished the tan ones for you, dear.

Hang on a minute.

Sometimes I think it isn't worth going to the doctors.

I mean, when he plays up like this, I just think, "I won't go".

But I like to, you know,

do my best and I always think maybe there might be a new tablet that he can try,

if it kept him as he is now, not any worse.

I would like to hope that they could do more, but they don't do any more.

That's it, you get a couple of appointments

and they're very nice, but that's it, really, basically.

Everything else is down to you.

Susan has been Bob's full-time carer

since he was diagnosed with dementia six years ago.

She's one of nearly six million unpaid carers in Britain,

looking after an ill relative.

There's a lot of cars out here, isn't there?

-You go around that side.

-What side?

-Around there.

-We're getting in here, are we?

-Yeah. Mind what you're doing.

You met me at The Seven Kings, didn't you, like, a night club?

Do you remember?

-No, I can't say I do.

-You did.

We used to come down here to the hospital,

it wasn't really an hospital, was it?

-We're going there in a minute, dear.

-Are we?

-Mmm.

Bob has a check-up every six months.

There's no cure for dementia and, with an ageing population,

it's one of the fastest-growing diseases in Britain.

-Cor, oh, dear, it's all coming back to me now.

-Is it?

-Very slowly.

-Oh, good.

-Yes, I remember it well. I'm beginning to remember it now.

We go in here.

-That's it, dear.

-Yeah.

-All right, ready?

-Yeah.

Come on, then.

Hello, appointment for Mr Sawyer.

What you do with your mind and your head while you're out there.

Sorry.

-Happiness.

-Yeah.

How are you doing? Are you all right? I'm one of the consultants.

-Mum and dad, are you?

-Yes.

-What's your name, young lady?

-Bethany.

-Bethany, OK. What happened?

-I fell off the monkey bars.

-OK.

-Did you bang your head?

-No.

-OK, have you hurt your neck?

-No.

-Your back?

Is it just your arm? OK. Let's have a quick look at everything else.

-If I press on your neck, that's not sore there?

-No.

Press on your chest, that's OK? Your tummy is OK?

Yes, it's OK.

Hips are OK. I'm going to take that off and have a quick look.

Oh, dear, that's possibly a dislocated elbow.

Right, a dislocated elbow. That looks very nasty, indeed, actually. OK.

Open your fingers out like that. OK. Pinch my fingers.

That's right, and straighten your hand out like that. OK, all right.

She's got a very nasty break in there.

I'm pretty certain she's going to need to go to the operating theatre,

erm, tonight.

You can't wrap children up in cotton wool. I have five children myself.

They do things that have a risk attached to them, that's life.

Categorically, you should not ban monkey bars, swings,

playgrounds or anything associated with having fun.

ON TV: These are largely positive figures,

which indicate that the recession and cuts in policing...

-Are you OK, there?

-Yeah.

The bowl into which the placenta is, so we put...

-Date of birth, please?

-22nd of March.

Lovely.

I've never had so many people fuss over me!

-As we go out...

-Yeah.

-..we couldn't just go by the ladies' ward,

so I can say goodbye to my wife? She's just...

-We can't really start wheeling the patients into there.

-Oh, all right.

It's just that she's at the beginning of the ward. It's all right, it doesn't matter.

Well, if she's there, she can come and say hello, if she wants, on the way out.

Oh, it doesn't matter.

-Which bed is she in?

-The first bed, there.

-Sorry I'm mucking you about!

-You're not mucking me about.

-I just wanted to say goodbye to her, just in case!

-Where are you going?

I don't know, I might pop off, mightn't I?

-Don't be silly. You'll be here to watch this.

-Yeah.

-Are you all ready?

-Yeah.

-How do you feel?

-All right.

-Yeah.

I was getting a little bit... I don't know...

Yeah, I'm getting a bit. A little bit.

Not too bad, but still...

Oh, well, good luck. I'll see you... All right, see you.

-All right?

-All right, yeah.

-Take care.

-See you, love.

-Bye.

-See you.

As with all surgery, there are uncertainties.

For Alan, there is a small risk of death

and a one in 20 chance of a major complication.

Holding bay, first.

Holding bay, first, all right.

'I tried to talk him out of it several times,'

because I knew what it would mean for him.

But he wouldn't have any of it. He just said, "No, I want to do it."

'I don't think he really realises exactly what he's risking.

'He just doesn't think about things like that.

'He just wants me to get better.'

I've just got to wait and hope and pray that he's all right.

She's getting needles.

I don't like needles!

A bit of Alan's small-bowel is popping out there.

I'm just going to make sure that this is about the right size.

Is he fully relaxed?

I'm just going to pop my hand in Alan's tummy now.

That's a lovely fit.

This is our very special hand port,

which is that bit of plastic.

I suppose it's a bit like the join on your Costa coffee cup.

So my hand now goes inside.

I can feel Alan's kidney.

Just here, we're going to put our camera port

and it can see around corners because it's got an angle on it.

-Are you happy with that?

-Yeah.

To see how the inside of a human being works, it's incredible.

Absolutely incredible.

This is the kidney here.

I've dissected around the back of it.

These veins are really massive.

I just, you know, I must never make a mistake.

I still haven't heard anything.

I've just got to pray that God keeps him safe.

Alan will be telling me not to be so silly.

Then they come round with special visitors.

That ain't going to make me feel no better.

I tell you, it's many years since I've been here, but I'm sure

you're the lady we used to see.

-That's right.

-Yes.

-Quite a few times.

-Yes, that's right, I remember.

It's a little bit hot in here.

It's not often I remember people like that.

Tell me, how do you spend your days?

-Do you go out? Do you go out by yourself?

-Oh, no.

We're going back to the old times, old questions, now.

-Yes, I always ask if you go out...

-I'm beginning to remember these now.

-..what you do.

-I'm beginning to remember these now. Do I go out?

-Do you go out with your wife?

-Not if I can help it!

Do you go shopping or do you go and visit friends?

-No...

-Not so much.

-I have to say, no.

I can't get him out now, he doesn't want to go out.

No, I'm not used to it.

Are there times when you see things in the house that perhaps

-other people can't see?

-Sometimes you do see things, don't you?

Like when you get me up in the night

and you keep seeing spaceships and aliens.

-You can't remember?

-What about cats? You see cats at night.

We haven't actually got any cats.

She's mad.

She's not the easiest person in the world to get on with,

-but we don't...

-Should we ask her how easy YOU are to get on with?!

How do you think things have been over the last six months?

They've been quite bad.

His memory, from one minute to the next,

he doesn't remember anything, at all.

I'm actually terrified to let him out,

because he doesn't know where he is.

And the weekend before, he didn't even know who I was.

He wanted to go home to his mum.

And also accidents, you know, in the bathroom. That's happening.

It's starting to happen that he doesn't always recognise you.

-No, he doesn't, no.

-Sorry, she's a mental case.

-It's true, dear.

It's very upsetting, because he was so active, so clever,

and I just... I know it's silly, but I want him back.

Do you remember some time ago, we discussed that it would be nice

-if you could come once a week to the day hospital?

-Just once.

Sorry, I'm lost.

It means somebody would come and pick you up, a little bus,

and you come here and your wife would then have a little bit of time to

do the things that she wants to do - go to a hairdresser's, go shopping.

Yeah, I, basically, remember this.

-I don't remember it all, but...

-We discussed it and then you decided

you don't want to stay, you wanted to be all the time with your wife.

-Why don't you try it, just once?

-Try what, sorry?

-To come for the day, have a sandwich, cup of tea.

-No.

You have to look at it that it will be good for you,

because you don't do so much

and it would be good to meet other people, to have a bit of stimulation.

That's the way I live, the way you're saying,

because I play golf...

I belong to the local golf club and I play there twice a week.

I think the problem is that you used to do that,

so you used to be very active and go out, but now you don't.

Can I just ask your wife,

have you considered a respite - you know, having a week where

your husband would...

I would consider it, but I don't know how... I don't think he'd go.

Would you? You wouldn't go away for a week, would you,

-to give me a rest?

-It depends on where I'm going and why I'm going!

I say that - where I'm going and why I'm going -

because if it's something to do with, um...

..making the...house more...

I think it's really important that you come to the day hospital.

We have to have a bit of a balance between what you would like

-and what your wife would like.

-Yeah, I understand where you're coming from, but...

Unfortunately, he will get worse.

And, unfortunately, there will be a time

when you won't be able to look after him at home.

He can get aggressive and if he puts you at risk, you need to tell me.

No, I would. I would.

If you feel at risk, or if your husband hits you or pushes you.

I think if we don't do anything,

then we're going to have a crisis quite soon.

Because he will be angry, I think, about going to a respite,

but he will get used to it, after a while. It will become easier.

And it will mean that he will stay longer at home.

That would be good, really.

Because it worries me considerably, the thought of not having him

there, at all.

-Yeah.

-Mmm.

-Are you driving?

-Me, I'm driving.

-It's dangerous.

-Stop it! It's fine!

I don't think that people quite appreciate what an amazing job

these carers do and how hard it is for them.

That's it, you going to get in?

I think my main anxiety is that she's pushing herself too much,

and that she is not letting go,

and I think my role is now, increasingly, to help her to let go.

Big push up, Martin.

'West Street - what's the problem?'

'My neighbour, he's had a mild stroke

'and is having the same symptoms again,

'and it's now his speech, as well.'

'OK. Are you with him, at the moment?'

'I am, yes, and my husband is here, as well.'

One, two, three.

Edwin, my name is Damien and we're going to just check a few things.

Now, does your voice sound like it normally sounds,

-or do you think it sounds a bit different?

-No, quite normal.

-OK, do you know where you are at the moment?

-Yep.

-Where are we?

-Jimmy Cook.

-OK, fine.

I'm going to ask you to do a couple of things. Can you look at me?

Can you pull a big smile for me? OK. Can you clench your teeth?

I know you've not got any, OK.

Now, with your arms, can you lift those up for me? OK.

And push that down for me.

Now, with your legs, your left leg,

can you lift that up as much as you can for me? OK. Pull that down now.

-OK. Can you lift this right leg up?

-No.

That's the one that's had the problem?

-OK.

-Just the same as it was last time.

-Can you feel me touching that leg?

-Yeah.

-So, at the moment, you can't move that, whatsoever?

-No.

And that was exactly how it presented,

the first time you had the mini-stroke?

-But it settled, did it, the first time?

-Yeah, it did.

I was walking about with a stick, smashing.

-Are you on your own at home?

-Yeah.

-OK.

-So who did you ring, your neighbour, was it?

-Yeah.

And do you get any help from anybody?

-Well, the neighbour that came with me tonight.

-OK.

-But you don't have a formal carer or anything like that?

-Oh, no.

-How old are you again?

-81.

-81, all right.

Hello, it's Damien, one of the A&E regs. Is that the med reg?

Sorry to bother you. Just a quick question.

I've got a chap in his 80s and he's got this jerking

-all the way down his leg...

-Can I give you these tablets?

Is that better?

I'm going to take this off you

and put a gown on you to cover you up, all right?

-It's running down into my eyes!

-All right!

Here we are, a nice cup of coffee, and one for me, as well.

Not too strong for you, is it? I drink mine like mud. OK?

-Are you feeling a little bit calmer now?

-I feel more relaxed.

You do? Good.

How many do you smoke a day now?

-About 20.

-I've given up, see?

-Have you?

-Yeah.

-I didn't start smoking until I was 20.

I didn't have a pint until I was 24.

-I know, after you gave up boxing.

-Yeah.

Almost half the people who start NHS detox programmes today

will go back to drinking.

Grant has started three times and failed.

Now, he's come in to discuss a residential detox.

Did they say how long you're going to be in?

-They're keeping me in for two weeks.

-Yeah.

I don't mind going in for two weeks.

Grant's daily routine is getting up in the morning,

he has a drink, he gets on the bus, he goes to the club,

and that's where he stays all day.

I've been drinking since I was about 15. I'll be 48 come Christmas.

And sometimes I'll go three days without having anything to eat -

just drinking all the time.

It was drink that was filling me up all the time.

Normally, when I don't have a can, I shake like hell in the mornings.

So I've got to do it. Definitely got to do it this time.

My body is telling me I've got to do it.

Because of the deprivation in the Valleys, because of the lack

of opportunities, because of the high levels of unemployment,

we're seeing far more people come through the door.

You could have maybe five, six, seven patients

come in from the same street with alcohol-related problems,

and that's right across the board - the whole of Wales, unfortunately.

-Hello.

-How's things?

-Not bad. How are you?

-All right. What are you doing?

-I'll sit down.

-So, how do you two know each other, then?

I'm his uncle, and there's a year between us!

HE LAUGHS

We were brought up together.

Brought up together. We've known each other since we were that high.

-Do you know a lot of people in the same situation?

-Oh, yes.

We've lost a good couple of friends from drinking, like.

-BLEEP,

-who was married to

-BLEEP

-before.

-He was only 39, when he died, and then there was

-BLEEP.

He died when he was 42.

I don't want to go through that.

I definitely don't want to go through that.

I am starting to shake a bit now. I always do! A couple of hours.

It's time now to go back down to the club for a quick pint,

before I really start shaking.

There are more than 1.5 million people in Britain

who are dependent on alcohol.

Each day, the NHS spends over £8 million treating

alcohol-related conditions.

So now, we'll just cut with a pair of scissors...

There is some urine coming out. That's the inside of the tube.

Can somebody give Raj Singh a call?

In hospitals with more resources, live kidney transplants

involve two surgeons, so they can focus on one patient each.

Your artery is there. So I think you've got lots of length.

I can't give you any more on the vein,

because the vena cava is fully dissected.

No, that's fine.

I'm not going to take a chunk out of the cava, but yeah.

That's our ureter.

Happy?

No, it's just artery.

I think it's fine. Stapler, please. Stapler's ready, back table ready,

ice OK? OK, start the clock, start the clock, now.

One, two, three, four, five, six.

Here is Alan's kidney.

Now we rush it across to Mr Singh, who is going to flush it out.

There are close to 6,500 people on the waiting list for a new kidney.

Almost every day, someone dies waiting for a transplant.

-You feeling OK?

-Yeah, yeah.

A little bit nervous, but not as much as I expected.

Two small and two large.

All right, guys. Can we note the time kidney out of ice?

We want to make sure that the ureter is down.

Put your hand always on here.

Make sure you don't take it off,

because the kidney will fall on the ground by mistake.

If the transplant has worked, the kidney will fill with blood

and produce urine.

You can see the kidney is getting pinker and pinker,

so this side is almost all pink.

And hopefully, with some luck,

we might be seeing urine come out from the ureter, which is this one.

But you have to give us a couple of minutes for that.

It's contracting, you can see the ureter contracting there.

When the ureter contracts, that is

a sign that it's going to push out some urine. There.

Drops of holy water.

There, the urine is coming, you can see the trickle.

That's lovely, isn't it?

I think once the blood pressure gets better, it will be more.

-We've got the blood ready.

-It's beautiful.

Yes, I think we are all very happy here.

-Big needle for your nose to be injected.

-How long is it, actually?

About that big.

Knightsbridge, that's down by Harrods.

I can remember just breaking down crying and saying,

"Am I going to die?"

We have a blocked tube, so we're about to change the tube

of the baby, so we can ventilate the baby properly.

You never think it's going to happen to you.

You always talk about it, planning, birth plans.

We had everything ready. And nothing went according to the plan.

You know that you have not done any mistake,

during the whole pregnancy, but I think that's God's will,

to tell human beings how helpless we are.

Yeah.

Look at his arms, they're all puffed up,

they have so many needles in there.

He's a good-looking boy.

It's only going to get better and better.

Ashaz is seven days old.

He was temporarily starved of oxygen during birth and transferred

to neonatal intensive care at St Thomas's,

where doctors stabilised him.

His parents will find out today

whether or not he has suffered any permanent brain damage.

We don't have the result of the MRI scan.

Hopefully, we will have it today. Obviously, when we do have

the result, we will sit down and talk with you about it.

I'm not sure that we know enough, really,

to be able to give you an idea as to how likely it is that

he will come through this entirely unscathed,

or to what extent he might have some problems.

-Let's take it one step at a time.

-I haven't heard him cry yet.

Do you think that will take a while?

Well, his throat is probably a bit sore,

because he had the tube down his lungs for a week.

Once again, we'll just have to wait and see.

-It would be nice to hear him make some sounds.

-Definitely.

Although you won't always say that!

One in ten babies born today will be transferred straight to

a neonatal ward for specialist care.

We deal with babies

who are extremely sick. Many, unfortunately, who don't make it.

But babies that come through intensive care may be left

with brain damage, which means that parents are not only being

parents and doing their routine looking after babies,

kind of thing, but also they really have to learn from scratch

quite advanced bits of care.

-ANNOUNCER:

-For the purpose of security and safety management...

Doctors don't know the cause of Edwin's seizure,

but they have now stabilised him with medication.

-How we know each other is we're neighbours. Aren't we?

-Yeah.

-Next door neighbours.

-What?

-How we know each other.

-Yeah.

We both live next door to each other. We have done for 17 years.

She chucks her rubbish over into my garden!

That's how I know her.

We see each other nearly every day, though, don't we?

-If we're in the garden.

-Dizzy.

-He's feeling dizzy.

-Can you see? Has your vision gone blurred?

-I can see you.

Can you see me?!

-Do you just feel a bit light-headed?

-Just trying to move about, yeah.

We've given you quite a lot of medication.

We'll keep an eye on you. All right?

When I move my head, you know.

And put your head back on the pillow.

All right?

OK?

'Obviously, it's not very nice that you see him taking a little

'turn for the worse,'

but I just couldn't go home. I'd rather wait, until he was

in a ward and I know he's settled, and then I can go home.

At the moment, it's, sort of, like being in limbo, isn't it?

It's still jumping. Just sit you up a little bit.

Obviously, you keep yourself to yourself,

but when we say to him, "Your curtains weren't open,

"is everything all right?"

He goes, "Oh, yeah, but it's really nice that you're looking after me."

We don't look at it as looking after him, we're just looking OUT for him.

He's a lovely neighbour.

We're going to get you to the ward now, so I'm just going

to get my paperwork together and I'll let Janette know and then

we'll get you to the ward, because your blood pressure is OK now.

-Am I going to leave you?

-Yeah, you're going to leave me.

-Oh. OK.

-Hello, I'm so sorry to leave you.

-That's all right, that's OK.

Just because, obviously, he wasn't feeling very well,

we just needed to attend to him, but he's feeling absolutely fine,

-he's back to his usual...

-His cheeky self!

-Yeah, his cheeky self.

I think he wants to see you first.

So if you come back in, have a chat with him

-and then, hopefully, we'll get going.

-No problem.

-Then you can be free.

-Yeah!

You can come round to the ward with us, if you want.

Well, whatever he wants. I just want him to be settled and all right.

-Here she is.

-Hello, you all right?

-I've been worried about you.

Have you? So do you want me to come round with you to the ward?

Doesn't matter. Well, you can come and see where I am and then go.

And then go, yeah.

Once I know that you're settled, yeah. Then I'll go.

Right, let's get going, then.

..if he's got relatives and how we can get in contact with them?

More painkillers, and what we'll do is...

Ashaz's lungs have recovered well enough for him

to be moved off the intensive care ward.

But doctors still don't know

whether he has suffered any permanent brain damage.

He needs less care now. Everything is getting better.

Most of the time, parents are appropriately hopeful.

That doesn't mean they have the same point of view as the staff,

but actually I think what we need to remember a lot of the time is

they need to have that hope, and that doesn't mean they don't

understand the implications of what's going on, but actually,

to maintain their sanity, hope is an incredibly important part of coping.

They call it the "departure lounge",

so hopefully he will go home very soon. Fantastic.

He just needs to cry to make his lungs strong.

Cry his lungs out, pretty much.

All we used to pray and wish for - "God, I don't want a crying child,

"he shouldn't cry."

-Now, I really want to see him crying loudly.

-He will.

You should be very careful what you wish for.

An hour later, Ashaz's brain scan results are in.

-How are you feeling?

-Yeah, OK.

-Good.

We were told that, because of that two-to-three-minute period

where his brain didn't get oxygen and blood supply, sufficient oxygen

and blood supply, it's caused some irreversible damage to his brain.

And it will most likely have a long-term impact

on his life as he grows up and how he achieves certain milestones

like sitting up, running, speaking.

I wouldn't say it went the way we were hoping it would.

But we're really... We're keeping it quite positive.

And he'll conquer everything, I'm pretty sure.

As I said, there's no point wasting these precious days

with him thinking about what the future holds for us.

We would rather be happy now and take it how it comes. It's fine.

It's all good.

Baba. Baba.

-Keep his head up. Keep his head.

-Is that OK?

-Aww.

He's never held a baby before in his life. This is his first time.

What's up with your eyes?

After seven hours at the clinic,

Kerry has completed his first day of detox without a drink,

but he still needs to be monitored at home through the night.

He's done fantastically well today, so basically all I'm going to do

now is give you his medication for tonight, OK? Look who I've got.

I'm not expecting anything to happen to him tonight,

because he's progressed so well.

You know what to look for in alcohol withdrawal.

Should that occur, give him two of these. OK?

He's done remarkably well.

-He's fit and healthy, he's had lunch - pie and chips.

-Already?

He's coming back to me in the morning and then he'll be given those.

You've signed the supervisor's letter, you know all about that.

-OK, Pauline?

-Yes, that's fine.

Pauline is now responsible for making sure Kerry

takes his daily medication.

Cheryl will see him monthly.

To have somebody like Pauline is paramount to his success.

For people who haven't got that, it's a very different story,

unfortunately.

If this service wasn't here, I think this community would crumble.

I dread to think what would happen. I dread to think.

He's a nice fella with a well-run shop.

Cheap drink, you know?

I think it's where 90% of the people get their drink from.

I'll still shop here, because he's a good man.

But as for drinking wise,

I'm hoping to knock it on the head

for quite a number of years at the moment.

That's what I've got locked in my head.

With... it won't be luck - with a lot of determination,

I will get there.

I will get there.

-How's it going?

-My brother-in-law.

-What do you think of him giving up beer?

-I think it's fantastic.

I think it's great. Really, really good. Proud of him.

In a big way, like. And I know he will do it. I think so.

100%. As I'm drinking my can.

DRIVER LAUGHS

He's a good boy.

Very good boy.

-What did you think of the doctors this afternoon?

-The doctors?

-Yeah.

-Do you remember going to the doctors?

-No!

No, I don't.

That's from when I first met him. These were when we was married.

That was when we was first married.

Do you remember him asking you to marry him?

Yes, I'd known him two weeks and he asked me to, but I knew he was keen.

You do know, don't you? He was obsessed.

He was obsessed!

This is actually when I first met him.

I thought he was very handsome and charming.

That was when we first went on holiday together.

Which was very nice. And this one was Bobby's 40th birthday.

In our garden.

I wish I could just have a little bit of him back.

He has gone now, hasn't he? You can see that.

He's not the man he used to be. I just feel he's a shell.

I mean, he's my husband.

But he's not, cos he's not really here, is he?

So we're going to go up now, yeah? Take that up with you.

No, you go up first.

No, I'd rather you go up first. We'll go up together.

-Then I know where you are, don't I?

-We can't leave him down here.

-He'll thieve everything!

-No, they won't, dear. Come on.

'I'd especially like him to go to the day centre,

'because I think I do need a break. Well, I know I need a break.'

You go up, and I'll be up in a minute.

I'll come up.

'It's wrong, but you get resentful of always having to be there

'and caring for him.

'Which, at the end of the day, doesn't make you feel very good,

'but you get up the next day and you start all over again.'

-Go on, then.

-See? She can't leave me alone.

I can't even get in bed without her.

Do you still love him?

That's quite hard, really,

because I've been with him for a very long time. Um...

Let me think.

I love the person he used to be, but he's not that person any more.

So... I just take care of him.

-Will you turn the light off when you're ready?

-Of course.

All right then, dear.

How is Alan? Great.

Hiya. How are you? Nice to see you again.

Take your time, all right?

Your operation went very well

-and Ann's operation has gone very well as well.

-Oh, that's good.

OK, so she's now in recovery getting better. All right?

We'll be bringing her up to the ward later on for you.

-Thank you very much.

-OK?

If you fancy a cup of tea later, that's fine as well. Great.

All right, see you tomorrow.

-You all right, Ann?

-Yeah.

-How do you feel?

-Just very tired. How are you?

-All right, perfect, yeah.

-Oh, good.

I'll let you get some sleep by the looks of it. You rest tonight.

Thanks, love. Thank you so much.

See you later.

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