Episode 8 Secret Life of the Hospital Bed

Hand versus chainsaw.

It looks painful.

Our hospitals are taking care of more patients than ever...

-You all right?

-HE SOBS

..with medical teams under constant pressure...

Can Dr Pitzy come to Resus, please?

Somebody as poorly as this little one,

we really need to treat them quickly.

..to meet our expectations.

I'm just worried about what he's going to be like afterwards.

But there's a crucial member of the team we sometimes forget...

I've never been on a bed like this.

..the hospital bed.

You're in another ward,

another story, another bed.

Argh!

In our lifetime, we are likely to need one of them

at least three times.

I've probably spent a quarter of me life on a hospital bed.

In this series, our cameras have been given

unprecedented access to beds in four very different hospitals

across the country.

It's life. It's life and death. And everything that goes in between.

We'll see the world through the beds' eyes...

Hello, my love, hiya.

..as they share the most challenging...

I don't know what to do.

I don't know.

-..most intimate...

-It's OK.

-All right.

I know.

..and most rewarding...

Happy birthday!

Isn't hospital wonderful?

..moments of our lives.

-Thank you for being here.

-I'm not going anywhere else.

The hospital cannot function without beds. Beds are vital.

This is...

The city of Newcastle has one of the UK's top paediatric units,

the Great North Children's Hospital.

It has a dedicated A&E Department for children up to the age of 16.

The most critically ill children are brought straight to the Resus area.

She developed the temperature last night...

Today, Resus bed two is ready to receive one of its tiniest patients,

who's struggling to breathe.

How are we doing?

A baby in, only about a month old,

who they've been out to see and they're concerned about.

Probably a chest infection -

but little, tiny babies, you've got to be very, very careful.

Baby Kalvin has been rushed in by ambulance, with his mum, Laura.

His airways are blocked.

He's fighting for his life.

We're just going to have a little look.

Erm, and how's... Has his breathing been like this all along?

With him sucking in at the neck and under the chest?

It was sort of like that at the weekend,

and then, yesterday, it didn't seem as bad.

-I took him to the GP yesterday.

-I'll just pop this under the head.

It was normal because he had been quite wheezy.

The team working to save Kalvin

is led by Paediatric Specialist Dr Astall and Nurse Emerson.

He feels hot, but he looks a little bit shut down.

Yeah, but he's warm.

-He looks more normal...

-..Than he did.

Kalvin has been ill for several days.

An intense coughing fit and difficulty breathing

led his mum, Laura, to call 999.

He seemed quite blue around the mouth for quite a while.

-And was he breathing during that time?

-I...I think so.

-Yeah, OK.

He was breathing, he was making... just a really strange noise.

As soon as the weather changes,

there's lots of little ones come in with bronchiolitis.

What can happen is they can be unwell,

but then they get VERY unwell by about day four

and that's what's happened, it's now day four.

And he's actually a lot worse.

Just remind me when his symptoms first started.

I think he's had just a slight cold over this past week,

and then Saturday was when I noticed his breathing and the cough

became, like, I knew it was going to happen.

Bronchiolitis is a chest infection

that accounts for almost 20% of admissions of children under one.

Kalvin is eight weeks old.

The team must open Kalvin's blocked airway.

It's restricting his breathing.

So, what we need to do is we need to support him.

We're going to support his breathing as he needs it with oxygen.

We'll suck out his nose to help with his breathing

and we'll send a sample of snot,

but he's a bit mottled to me

and I just wonder if he's a bit behind with his feeds

and his fluids and I think, maybe,

it might be sensible to pop a drip in

and maybe just give him some fluid, just to try and catch him up.

If Kalvin's condition doesn't improve once the fluids are onboard,

he'll be transferred to intensive care.

The next 30 minutes on Resus bed two are critical.

The Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham.

Its Day Surgery ward has 81 beds,

used for more than 4,000 procedures a year.

Built for purpose, these beds have side rails,

a steering pedal and a mount for oxygen.

Day Surgery bed 32 is prepped and ready for its next shift.

-Could you take this lady to 32, please?

-Yes. This way, please.

Cleaning business owner Anna-Marie has extreme pain in her knee.

She needs surgery to repair the cartilage.

This will be her second operation in less than seven months.

I was only pushing a supermarket trolley when I heard it crack

and it was about...

four months after my last surgery?

It just went pop, it went again.

I literally couldn't walk on it.

My daughter had to drive me home and after that, it just kept giving way.

I nearly fall over with it, so...

Are you going to wait here when I go down, or are you going to go back?

48-year-old Anna-Marie is carer to her husband, Andrew.

He's in constant pain from injuries to his back and hand.

He's unable to walk properly or work.

The problem I've got is I'm slightly restricted in what, well,

very restricted in what I can do physically,

and Anne-Marie has always been the one looking after me.

The thing is, I'm the carer now,

so, for me to be off my feet,

literally, for the next couple of months,

it's going to be really hard.

We've been together since we were kids, so we've grown up together.

We, er...

As we said, we've been married,

well, been together 34 years, but we renewed our wedding vows.

Nurse McDonald carries out Anna-Marie's pre-op checks.

-Are you all right with needles?

-Me?

-Yeah.

-It's me that's not all right with needles!

I just don't want any fainters on my hands!

We just really look out for each other.

We're always together

and as I say, since my surgeries,

things have become even closer, to be honest.

Great. That's a good sign.

She does so much for me.

Perfect. 4.6.

Just sweet enough.

After her last operation,

Anna-Marie started back at work too soon

and her knee didn't heal properly.

Now she can barely walk.

Anna-Marie finds it difficult to sit down and relax

and I think that's the problem with what happened last time.

She actually started

doing things too soon, didn't you?

I can't listen to people.

I don't sit down.

So I'm finding it really hard sitting here now,

thinking of things I could be doing.

One of the couple's three children, Rachel, is a nurse at the hospital.

She's come in on her day off to see her mum.

You nervous?

-Very.

-You'll be fine. We'll look after you.

I know. I know what's coming this time.

-Do you work on this ward?

-Yeah, this is where I work.

-Is it?

-Yeah.

-It's busy though, isn't it?

-Very busy.

-So, when you say that you work hard...

-Do you believe me now?

ALL LAUGH

It wasn't all lies.

-How are you?

-I'm fine, thank you.

Anna-Marie's surgeon is Sir Keith Porter -

the UK's only professor of Clinical Traumatology.

We know from your MRI scan,

you've got a new tear in your cartilage there.

We know also you've got some background wear in your knee.

Sir Keith operated on Anna-Marie's knee seven months ago.

So, the intended benefits here are to assess your knee,

to improve your pain and to improve your function.

Because you've got some background arthritis,

we can't guarantee that you're going to be symptom-free,

but we know that anyway.

I forgot to tell you, my knee,

it's been just going from underneath me unexpectedly quite a lot.

I think that's related to this new tear.

Suddenly, that bit of the cartilage displaces

and causes you some grief.

Anything else you'd like to ask?

Um, no. You've covered everything, thank you.

-OK. See you upstairs.

-Thank you.

He knew I was a bit anxious,

so he's made sure that he's there himself for me, as well, hasn't he?

-Can I walk down to the theatre with her?

-Yes, you can.

Day Surgery bed 32

is now ready to take Anna-Marie for her two-hour knee operation.

In one year, NHS A&E departments see over 22 million cases.

PHONE RINGS

Emergency department, RVI.

Ten minutes. Lovely. Thanks a lot. Bye.

The Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle has 29 beds

on which to treat the patients that walk through the door.

Make yourself comfortable.

Each bed here works to capacity,

handling up to nine patients every 24 hours.

A&E bed nine is ready to meet 36-year-old Chris.

He's been in a serious road accident on his bike.

He was hit by a car.

I was hit on this side,

but I've gone down on this side

and that's where all of the kind of...

..impact's been.

It's mainly up here, this area here.

It's very sore now.

Chris's dad James was on his way to meet him when the accident happened.

When I first literally got to Chris after he'd been knocked over,

which was about five minutes or so,

he had a very yellow, grey look on him,

which I was a bit worried about, because clearly I thought,

"Had he had a head injury or was he going to...?"

But I think it was just the shock, the initial shock.

Every year, over 20,000 people in the UK

are injured in cycle accidents.

You see people flying around on their bikes

and they don't stop at lights,

and no wonder people get hit,

but I was abiding by the rules, kind of thing,

and it's just ended up being an accident.

If it'd been someone coming across, different story.

-Or a bus.

-Or a bus, yeah.

More than 100 cyclists are killed each year.

Chris is lucky not to be one of them.

A&E bed nine takes Chris for multiple X-rays.

These will reveal any breaks or fractures in his arm, ribs or leg.

Fantastic, so I'm going to spin you round a touch.

-We'll take several X-rays.

-OK.

Are you just doing the shoulder area?

We're going to take your shoulder,

the ankle and, also, the elbow, as well.

-It's all on the left-hand side, is that correct?

-Yeah.

Senior Radiographer Mr Patterson is also a cyclist.

And you fell off your bike, is that correct?

I was knocked off my bike, yeah.

-What kind of bike was it? Road bike, mountain bike?

-Yeah, road.

It's scary out there. You have to have eyes absolutely everywhere.

-You do. We were just talking about that.

-I cycle commute, too.

You get that sort of sixth sense that something is going to happen,

-but you never quite get out of the way, do you?

-I know.

The last time Chris was in hospital

was for the birth of his first child, six months ago.

Fantastic. That's the first one done. Just relax.

-So, we're going to take some pictures of the ankle next.

-OK.

Is it more painful towards the very bottom of the ankle,

or sort of up towards the shin?

The shin. More towards the shin.

I'm going to lower the back of the bed down slightly

-and I'll get you to shuffle your bottom backwards if you can.

-OK.

So, gently does it.

Have you ever injured this ankle before?

Any previous breaks, dislocations?

-No, just sprains.

-Excellent.

Let's hope we can say the same thing here.

Fantastic. That's that one taken.

Chris has six X-rays in all.

He'll return to the ward and wait on A&E bed nine for the results.

In the neighbouring Children's Hospital, Resus bed two

has been with critically ill Kalvin for 30 minutes.

He's eight weeks old

and was rushed to Paediatric A&E with his mum Laura.

With a severe chest infection, he's fighting for breath.

It's just horrible when they're poorly, isn't it?

It makes you feel so helpless,

but you've done absolutely the right thing, so...

Kalvin's throat is blocked.

The priority for paediatric specialist Dr Astell

is to get fluid into Kalvin intravenously.

I'm just going to warm this hand up a little bit

with some warm water in a glove.

MACHINES BEEP

A surgical glove filled with warm water

makes a tiny hot water bottle for Kalvin's hand

to bring his veins to the surface. KALVIN COUGHS

Ooh! We've got a cough.

It's such a bronchialytic cough.

So, will you be able to run the gas through for us?

I should be able to. It should let me.

If you do that, then Hayley can pass me the other bottle.

Right, OK.

-OK, Mum, he might jump a bit.

-That's fine.

-KALVIN CRIES

-Oh, I know. I'm sorry.

I'd rather he was responding to us sticking things in here than not.

I know, I know.

It's OK.

HE GRIZZLES

What I'll get you to do firstly is...

Mind the sharp. ..I'm going to put the gas in the tray,

but if you can pass me the orange and the pink bottle?

Yeah, of course I will.

Next, the team check his blood sugar level

to make sure it hasn't dropped dangerously low.

5.5. Happy.

-Is this dad?

-Yes.

-Hi there, come on in.

He's looking a bit better, so don't worry.

Baby Kalvin's dad, Carl, has rushed to the hospital to be by his side.

Kalvin's airways still need to be cleared to help him breathe.

HE CRIES

Kalvin is out of danger, but he's not well enough to return home.

Resus bed two transfers him to a paediatric ward

where he will stay under close observation.

Resus bed two is put back into circulation,

ready for its next critical patient.

It's 3pm at Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

Day Surgery bed 32 is carrying Anna-Marie from the ward

to the operating theatre.

She's having knee surgery for the second time this year.

It's crucial the operation works.

-Can you just stop one minute?

-Yeah.

-Love you. Good luck.

Anna-Marie is the family's breadwinner

and carer to husband Andrew,

who has chronic pain in his back.

We met when we were really young,

so we just really look out for each other.

She's my carer, to a large degree,

she does virtually everything for me because of my condition.

Strong painkiller now, right?

This will make you feel a bit light-headed.

What's your favourite tipple?

-Cocktails.

-Cocktail. What sort?

-Mojito.

No, I like mojitos, but I like strawberry daiquiris, as well.

-This is your strawberry daiquiri.

-That's my strawberry daiquiri.

-They usually knock me out, as well!

-OK?

A bit of oxygen now, all right?

That's for you. That's fresh air.

That's the main sleepy stuff going in now. Just go with the flow.

Husband Andrew waits on the ward.

I'm really worried. She struggled with the anaesthetic last time,

so, hopefully, this time, she's not going to feel quite so sick.

That's the big thing, really - the anaesthetic factor.

Eminent trauma specialist Sir Keith Porter

will repair the torn cartilage in Anna-Marie's knee.

This afternoon's procedure is a planned operation.

It's called an arthroscopy,

which is placing a telescope inside a patient's knee,

which we use for both diagnostic and treatment purposes.

We know the patient has a tear in their cartilage, as well as

some background wear changes.

Whilst it will give more information on assessment,

the main reason for the operation today is actually treatment.

Without this operation, Anna-Marie's leg will continue to give way,

damaging her cartilage further.

Just anxious to see how she is

because, hopefully, everything's gone OK.

Nearly two hours now.

Hopefully, back soon.

She's in recovery at the moment, so...just waiting.

After two hours,

Anna-Marie is reunited with Day Surgery bed 32 and husband Andrew.

This time she's actually going to have to listen to people.

She's going to have to listen to me.

-You all right?

-Yeah.

-Just tired?

-Yeah.

We've got three children, so they'll be around to help.

Our youngest daughter, Jade,

she still lives at home,

so I've no doubt she'll be looking after her mum.

Do you need me to open it for you?

-I can do it.

-You sure?

-Yeah.

It will take Anna-Marie three months

to fully recover from the surgery on her knee.

Nurse McDonald is in charge of her post-op care.

She has to eat something, drink a hot drink and not feel sick.

We can't send patients home when they're feeling sick.

-I'm eating.

-Is it going down well?

I ate half. She asked me to eat half.

You've got to eat a little bit more of this one. A little bit more.

So bossy.

I ate half a sandwich and I've managed to...

-Nearly half a sandwich.

-Nearly half a sandwich.

-No, look.

Just a little bit of crust on the corner.

That's more than I managed before.

-I believe you. And you've had a biscuit?

-I had two biscuits.

-Shall we try and get you out of bed, then?

-Yeah.

-Yeah?

Anna-Marie needs to be able to bear weight on her leg

otherwise she can't be discharged.

-Feel all right?

-Yeah.

-So, you've passed urine, your obs are stable,

you feel OK, you've had something to eat.

-That's the criteria for discharge.

-Thank you.

So, I'll let you get dressed.

After a ten-hour shift,

Day Surgery bed 32's time with Anna-Marie is over.

In Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary,

A&E bed nine is carrying Chris.

He has severe pain down his left side

after being knocked off his bike.

Hello. It's Louise in X-ray.

I've got a gentleman on a trolley

to go back to A&E, please. Thank you. Bye.

A&E patient numbers are on the rise.

It's putting hospital beds under more pressure than ever before.

At the minute, there aren't any beds next door.

There is movement next door, though,

and I think there's about 20 beds in the system, so...

All of the emergency bays are currently full with patients.

The team's only option is to leave A&E bed nine and Chris

in the corridor to wait for his X-ray results.

You've been evicted.

-Didn't take long, did it?

-Oh, no. Never does.

His X-rays have revealed no breaks.

Nurse Bishop gives him medication for the pain.

I've just got some ibuprofen and co-codamol for you, OK?

-Yeah.

-How's the bike, then?

-It's fine, I think.

I was hit square-on,

so it just flung across the road rather than buckling it,

but I'll have a proper look when I get...

-Oh, that's OK. No breaks, bike's all right.

-Yeah, I know.

-Quite lucky there, actually.

-Yeah, definitely.

-Did you have your helmet on?

-Yeah. Yeah, definitely.

We're forever telling people, "Make sure you have your helmet on."

I haven't looked at that, because I cracked the ground with that

so it's probably got a crack in it.

That's fine there, if you're all right to step down,

if you feel OK to do so?

An hour and a half after arriving, Chris is discharged.

A&E bed nine needs to be turned around quickly

to keep up with patient demand.

Grandmother-of-11 Margaret has arrived,

suffering with intense pain in her leg.

There's only one bed for her - it's A&E bed nine.

Right, we've got you booked in, Margaret. We'll get you seen to.

Just have a seat.

I got up one day and my knee was painful, swelling.

Maybe it's just something that will go away,

but after a week, it became unbearable.

This is the second time Margaret has come to A&E with pain in her knee.

On the first visit a month ago,

she was admitted overnight.

She was X-rayed and fluid was drained from her knee.

Nurse Dyas is assigned to her case to carry out initial tests.

I'm just going to check your blood pressure and check everything's OK.

They drained it last time, is that right?

Yeah, they drained it last time.

So, they'll probably drain it. Come down and drain it again, maybe.

Last time Margaret had this procedure, she had intense pain.

They put the needle, it was a long needle,

You know, they put it through here,

you know, which was very, very painful.

They tried it several times.

It's like getting blood out of your vein, but with this,

it's different because it's in between your bones...

..and it was very, very painful.

The worst pain ever, apart from childbirth.

Dr Richardson, a junior doctor,

wants to be sure a drain is the right course of action.

When you had it drained, did that help with the pain?

It helped a little bit.

The drain itself...

..had its own pain that it came with

because they didn't give me any local anaesthetic.

Oh, right. And are you able to walk on it?

Yeah, but not weight-bear on this completely. It's mainly this.

-On the right leg instead?

-So, I hop, you know?

-OK, fine, OK.

I'm just going to come around this side.

Now, can you straighten your leg out, do you think?

-It's very, very painful.

-OK. Just as best you can. That's fine.

Margaret is part of a large family.

Without her mobility, the whole family is affected.

I'm going to press here.

-Ooh!

-Where did it hurt when I did that?

-Here, right here.

-That side, OK.

There's possibly a bit of fluid in there still,

but the orthopaedic doctors are going to come down and see you

and I think they're going to take another sample off, as well.

If there is fluid, and if they're going to drain it,

-I will request if I can have a local anaesthetic.

-OK.

Because the last time...

-It was too much. I understand.

-I didn't have any.

Let me go and see what the results are,

because it may be that we might not need it.

If they've taken quite a lot off it,

it's unlikely that it's all come back, so, you know,

it might not need that at the moment, but we'll see.

I'll be back in sort of five, ten minutes, once I've had a look, OK?

-Thank you very much, thank you.

-OK. Thank you. No problem.

I'm not entirely certain what's going on at the moment.

I think she may have gout in her knee

and that's possibly what she came in with at the start of the month.

Gout is a build-up of crystals that can happen in the knee.

They're usually formed by some of the waste products

that your body forms and they can form in any joint.

Usually, it's your toe or your knee or something like that

and it's incredibly painful. Really difficult to walk on.

-Hi.

-Hi, Doctor.

So, I've spoken to the orthopaedic doctors

and they think what we need to do is get some blood tests,

get an X-ray and they may need to take another sample.

But we'll ask for the local anaesthetic, don't worry, OK?

OK.

A&E bed nine is quickly put to work.

After a short stop in X-ray,

the bed takes Margaret back to the bay

to wait for the orthopaedic doctors.

They will decide if her knee should be drained.

The Great North Children's Hospital in Newcastle.

Here, the Paediatric Emergency and Assessment Unit

sees almost 500 cases a year

of children with objects stuck in their nose or ears.

It's Clem. I'm the Paediatric Coordinator.

Oh, hi. I'm all right, thank you. How are you?

Five-year-old Harsal has been admitted

to Paediatric A&E bed 27 with a small ball in his ear.

Oh, yeah, I can see it.

Who put that in your ear?

One of his best friends.

Nurse Park makes an attempt to remove the ball.

Can you do this? Can you hold your nose, or shall I hold it?

-And you go...

-SHE PUFFS

HE PUFFS

Oh, it's not moved.

Let's have a look.

I think it's moved a little bit out, but not much.

Today was Harsal's first day back at school.

His mum Priteema is by his side.

He's very naughty.

He's a little monkey.

Never keeps still.

He's a very hyper kid.

Yeah...

Very curious.

Just wants to know about everything all the time.

When I've been outside after lunch,

when I was counting,

someone put a little ball in my ear.

Really, really worried about if it's damaged inside a lot.

That's why I'm really, really worried about it.

If the ball is pushed in too far, Harsal's ear canal could be damaged.

A perforated eardrum could lead to a permanent loss of hearing.

Nurse Practitioner Rutherford is next to try and retrieve the ball.

For this reason, yeah.

Right, can I have a little look in your ear, yeah?

Can you look over to that wall for me?

All right. Do you know what the ball was made of?

A plastic ball.

A plastic ball.

Right. What we'll try and do is

we'll try and suck it out.

Oh, yeah, I know that.

Have you seen one of these before?

-Yeah.

-It won't hurt.

OK?

Nice and still.

You keep really, really still.

The main problem when you're trying to remove something

from a child's ear, it's very small anyway, they can move around.

They don't always like to lie still.

There's always the possibility that you could end up

pushing it further down.

Nice and still.

-It's out yet?

-No, it's not out yet.

This will take a few minutes, Harsal, OK?

Having no success with the suction tube,

Nurse Practitioner Rutherford moves in with a small set of forceps.

Right, you keep really, really still.

-That's it. Out.

-Oh!

Oh, my goodness.

HE LAUGHS AND GIGGLES

-I want to keep that!

-You want to keep it?

It was a very small bead which had a little hole in,

which was actually quite handy because, then,

you could actually get the forceps into the hole and pull it out.

Let me just have another little look.

Look over to the side again...

Nurse Practitioner Rutherford checks that the ball

has caused no lasting damage.

-Fine. Nothing, there.

-Thanks very much.

I really appreciate it.

And Harsal takes a memento of the day.

You'll have to tell your friends not to put things in your ear.

Just keep an eye that it doesn't get any discharge or anything from it.

-Oh, yeah, yeah. Thanks very much. Thank you.

-All right.

Harsal parts company with Paediatric A&E bed 27.

At the Great North Children's Hospital,

the Paediatric A&E beds can be turned around

in less than ten minutes.

Hello. Paeds AD, Becky speaking.

Paediatric bed 27 welcomes its next emergency patient.

14-year-old Abby has been admitted with stomach pain.

Her mum Keeley is worried it's appendicitis.

-Hello.

-Hiya.

-Hiya.

I'm Becky, one of the nurse practitioners.

Nurse Practitioner Ramshaw will examine her.

So, can you tell us what's been happening today?

Abby started complaining of a pain in her side on Friday night.

She was saying it was really sharp

-and it was hurting when she was breathing.

-OK.

We gave her paracetamol.

She's had paracetamol for a couple of days and it's not easing at all.

So, I her took down to the doctor this morning, explained to him,

and he said we should bring her here and have it checked

because he thinks she has appendicitis.

-OK. All right. So, it's been going on since Friday?

-Yeah.

-We're on holiday on Sunday.

-Are you?

-Where are you going on Sunday?

-Salou.

-Oh, are you?

-Yeah, so fingers crossed everything's OK.

So, just tell me if I press anywhere that's sore.

Appendicitis affects one in 13 people.

-There.

-It's started to get a bit uncomfortable?

If it isn't stopped in time, it can be life-threatening.

Just pop your hands just straight down by your sides if you can.

-What about there? Is that sore, as well?

-Yeah.

-OK.

-There.

-That's uncomfortable there?

-There.

-OK.

-We'll pop that bed back up now, OK?

-OK.

That OK?

She is sore over the area where your appendix is.

Obviously, I think that's what your GP was worried about

-and made him think appendicitis.

-Yeah, yeah.

I think what we should do is take some blood samples from her.

We'll have a little look at the inflammatory markers

and just see if there's any sign of any infection

going on that would then need me to refer you

to see one of the surgeons today.

OK, sweetheart. I won't be long, all right?

I'll come back and get that sorted.

Appendicitis is an inflammation of the appendix

and it can become... It can make the child become more unwell

because it can cause sepsis, which is quite a nasty infection,

which she would need to get some treatment for, some antibiotics

to cover her for the sepsis and then probably surgery to

remove the appendix.

I have three children.

Abby's the middle child.

I have Ellie, who's 16

and Corby, who's seven in two weeks' time.

This is Corby. This is Ellie, and this is Abby.

We left Abby till last, didn't we?

Best till last.

OK, sweetheart. So, we can get sorted with this blood test.

This is Sophie.

The whole family are due to go on holiday to Spain in five days' time.

I'm going to go on me phone with the other hand,

that'll distract us.

If she needs surgery to remove her appendix,

Abby won't be well enough to travel.

-Lovely, sweetheart. I'll go and get these sent off, OK?

-OK. Thank you.

Fingers crossed, legs crossed, toes crossed.

We'll be devastated.

Until the blood tests come back,

Abby will stay with Paediatric bed 27 and wait.

A&E bed nine at Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary

has been occupied by Margaret for two hours and 15 minutes.

She's been struggling with intense pain and swelling in her left knee.

Orthopaedic Specialist Doctor Ferns

and Junior Doctor Nolan have arrived to drain liquid

from her knee for analysis.

OK, so, this is just the numbing agent.

Is it starting to feel numb a little bit?

A bit.

Look away.

And relax.

Dr Nolan tries to draw off liquid,

but the needle won't go in.

And just guide it in quite gently.

It feels like it's getting stuck.

Move in a bit more inferior.

-A bit more deep.

-Yeah.

Yeah.

They need another needle.

-Sharp scratch.

-Ow!

-Sorry.

-Keep it in, though.

Keep still, keep still.

You want to be quite close to the hilt.

Oh, is that fluid there?

Take it out a little bit, not too much, the needle.

Take as much out as you can.

You see, there's quite a lot that's come out.

Do you see that? That's it, keep the plastic straight.

I'm going to let go, OK?

I've got gauze, so you just take everything out and I'll put it over.

This is a lot more than what was taken out the last time.

Did you hear that?

So, it's a lot better.

-Can you try and bend your knee a bit more?

-Oh, stiff...

Oh, no, it won't be fixed altogether.

-As long as it's a little bit better.

-Yeah.

Margaret's knee fluid is sent to the lab for tests.

After two and a half hours, Dr Ferns returns.

Sorry, have you been waiting here the whole time?

-Yeah, yeah, I've been waiting.

-Sorry about that.

I got called with the results about half an hour ago,

but I've not been able to come and see you.

So, basically, the results came back all negative, OK?

The fluid, there's nothing in it, OK? I think this is probably...

..arthritis, OK? So the best thing,

we're going to give you some stronger painkillers today, OK?

So, we didn't really get an answer for Margaret today,

but we ruled out anything serious.

So, other than that, we can let her go home

and we have increased her painkillers so she can sleep tonight

and she'll be a bit happier, at least.

It's a bit disappointing, to be honest with you.

Obviously, the pain, that doesn't take the pain away

and the swelling, as you can see, you know?

And every move now is agony.

I will be glad to be out of here,

to see the back of the bed.

I'm not very tall!

I'll walk you down.

Margaret leaves A&E bed nine.

Investigations into the pain in her knee will continue.

At Newcastle's Great North Children's Hospital,

A&E bed 27 has been occupied by teenager Abby for an hour.

She has suspected appendicitis

and is waiting with mum Keeley for test results.

So it doesn't look like we're going home in a hurry,

so I hope that bed's pretty comfortable.

Strong coffee is what I need.

Anything to eat or drink is what I need.

I'm so glad I had me Crunchy Nut.

I wish I had've had something to eat. I'm absolutely clamming.

If they're going to have to take your appendix out,

you can't have anything, Abby.

-I'll die of starvation before I get me appendix out!

-You'll not, man.

Hopefully, I don't need them out. I don't want them out.

Abby's come in today with abdominal pain.

There's a few possible causes of this

and one of them is we're thinking it may be appendicitis.

The only way to confirm that is through a test.

Once those results are back,

they'll speak to one of the paediatric surgeons here

and we'll go from there.

Abby's family have been planning a holiday to Spain

for more than six months.

Just think, next week, you might be on a bed in Spain.

I've had a countdown since the day you booked it.

It's four days, 14 hours and 21 minutes until we go to the airport.

I could cry.

You could.

After two and a half hours, there's news.

-Hello.

-Hello.

-You all right?

So, the blood results are back.

One of them is slightly raised a little bit, which would suggest

that there's a bit of a viral illness going around at the moment.

-Yeah.

-But it doesn't look like appendicitis.

Brilliant. That is amazing!

OK, so we can take that cannula out

and we can get you on your way.

And if she develops any other symptoms

that you're concerned about, or if she gets a temperature

that you're worried about, pop her back and we'll check you over again.

I don't think she would tell us if she did now!

-Relief.

-Yes! Thank you.

-Enjoy your birthday and your holiday.

-Thank you.

-No worries.

Thanks. Yay!

Patient!

Abby leaves Paediatric A&E bed 27.

Our hospital beds have given us intimate access

to the work of the NHS.

Chris is back on his bike after the accident.

Margaret has since been diagnosed with arthritis.

She's managing the pain.

Baby Kalvin made a full recovery and is back home.

The beds are now back on their wards,

ready and waiting for their next round of patients.