24 Hours in A&E

8 year old Billy is rushed to St George’s after being crushed by falling bricks that were being stored on his front drive. As he travels to St George’s, his Dad Shaun recounts the horror of finding out about the accident…”I was in the back garden..I heard a scream and I wasn’t too sure if it was Billy, when I ran out there it was just horrible, absolutely horrible.” As he arrives in A&E, Orthopaedic Registrar Niv is called down to resus to assess the extent of the damage the bricks have done “anything is possible at that stage, you just don’t know.” Niv is concerned that the impact of the bricks falling on him may have caused a serious fracture to Billy’s femur that has damaged the nerves or blood vessels in his leg and needs to X ray him immediately. Whilst doctors assess the X ray, Shaun talks about Billy’s presence in the family ”He’s got this thing about him that he seems to just make someone happy when they’re sad, and that’s what makes him, Billy.” When the X ray reveals that Billy has indeed fractured his femur he’s transferred to the specialist paediatric emergency department. Doctors need to put his leg in traction ahead of emergency surgery to give him the best chance of walking normally again. 6 year old Luther comes to A&E with a metal washer stuck on his finger. After doctors unsuccessfully attempt to ease it off with cream, they decide to try to cut through the washer. As doctors tackle either side of the metal ring, Senior Healthcare Play Specialist Tracy, who’s role is to comfort and distract children during their treatment in A&E, talks about how close she feels to the patients she sees in A&E and how vital her role is to both children and their parents. 83 year old Audrey comes to St George’s with her grandson Lee after falling whilst on holiday. As doctors assess the damage to her wrist she talks about her life growing up during the war and how much she relies on Lee after her husband of 60 years passed away recently.