24 Hours in A&E

11-year-old Jack is rushed to A&E after being hit by a motorbike while walking to his first day at secondary school. Jack managed to push his friend out of the way, but he was thrown up in the air and banged his head, fracturing his skull. He was taken to a local hospital, but his injuries are so severe that he’s been transferred to St George’s. A CT scan reveals that Jack has a bleed on his brain caused by the fracture and doctors are also worried that he may have internal bleeding. He’s taken to intensive care. “I think when it's a head injury. Cause you can't see it you don't know what's happening,” says Jack’s mum Lynda. “I just felt so helpless because I just couldn't do anything for him.” Consultant Will feels huge empathy for Jack’s parents. “When it's your child lying on a trolley I think parents are completely overwhelmed. It's completely alien to anything else they've ever been involved in before,” he says. “All they can see is their son there and worrying about exactly what is happening.” 24-year-old Jake arrives in A&E after being involved in a head-on collision with another car and he ‘bullseyed’ the windscreen. He was driving past his ex-girlfriend at the time. Jake has a seven inch injury on his head, but fortunately no sign of brain injury. He admits he’s accident prone. “I’ve had broken hands and fingers, big slashes on my legs,” says Jake. “I’ve got ‘You Only Live Once’ tattooed on my arm. If you have something tattooed on you and then you don't live by it you're an idiot if you ask me.” Meanwhile 32-year-old Saumeel has come to hospital with his brother Rishin after cutting his hand badly on a washing machine. Student doctor Uzair, who’s just started at St George’s, is looking after Saumeel, but he needs some specialist help to stitch the wound.