24 Hours in A&E

68-year-old Beth is rushed to A&E after falling down a flight of stairs and breaking her ankle – her foot is hanging off and the bone is sticking out. Beth, who’s originally from Canada, lives on her own after her husband died recently. “I remember losing my balance. I just remember going down, and when I landed thinking, 'Oh God! I've lost my foot',” says Beth. “I was scared, because I'm on my own. I'm not quite used to that yet.” Dr Ashley is concerned that Beth may have sustained other internal injuries. Doctors manipulate her ankle back into place and she faces emergency surgery and intensive physiotherapy. But Beth is determined to walk again. “I've got things to do and places to go. I'm not ready to lay down and die yet!” she says. 67-year-old Leigh has head injuries after being knocked off his bicycle in a hit and run incident. He was travelling at speed and wasn’t wearing a helmet. Medics are worried that he has suffered a severe trauma to his head and may have further injuries to his neck and spine. “A car came out of a side road, and he obviously didn't see me, because I hit him before I could even touch the brakes,” says Leigh. “It was a horrible feeling. I just knew I was gonna crash.” Leigh was born in Southern Rhodesia, which became Zimbabwe, and doesn’t have any family in the UK. He talks about how life changed in the country as pressure for independence grew and why he had to leave at short notice after being threatened with arrest for treason. Meanwhile 26-year-old Luke comes to A&E after an accident at work involving an electric saw. He’s accompanied by his twin brother, Dan. They were always close until Dan moved away and had a son with his girlfriend. Luke had a couple of run ins with the police, but now wants to find the right girl and settle down.