01x02 - Episode 2

[bunniefuu]

This programme
contains scenes of surgery

and was filmed in accordance
with government Covid guidelines
in place at the time

Newcastle, home to one of the
biggest and best hospital trusts

in the UK.

The staff here are unique
because of this Geordie blood

that they have, they always meet you
here with a smile.

Do you want to do questions
or do you want to do muscles?

Um, definitely muscles. Muscles?

Oh, they are big ones.

Across a shift... Love a satsuma.

Go for it. Wahey!

..we meet the dedicated staff...

I love your dancing.
They're kind and they're caring.

They have a sense of humour
that is second to none.

I went to see the new dog.
What've you named her?

She's called Lady. So when you
getting the tr*mp?

Exactly. Like you!
Lady and the tr*mp!

..from world-class medics,
saving lives...

It's a young lady's kidney.

We'll call it Cassandra.

You can do the lift
from Dirty Dancing.

It's just bits of artery dangling
off, everywhere!

..to the support teams
who make it possible.

Here you go, sir. In we go.
Well done.

What a bunch of odd bods. We laughed
from morning, noon and night.

..committed to caring for
people like you and me...

That's the actual tumour
that we're dealing with.

..and transforming lives forever.

You've just walked!
That was amazing, James.

Thank you very, very, very much.

HE WHISTLES

HE SINGS TO HIMSELF

It's the start of the day for
staff working across the Freeman,

the Great North Children's Hospital
and the Royal Victoria Infirmary.

Heading to the plastic surgery
department

is Theatre Orderly Allan Wood.

You know, the hardest thing
for me is having to get up,

having to get here. Once I'm here,

I laugh from eight o'clock in the
morning till six o'clock at night.

I do. I laugh every day.

And maybe that's what keeps you
young, I don't know. It probably is.

Morning. Morning. Morning! Morning!

The people I work with are just
fantastic.

Morning, everybody.
Look who's here! Hi!

Morning, everybody.

What would you do with him?

Ooh, average day.

I start at eight o'clock,

just set up for the theatre.

At nine o'clock, we start.

I never went to school.

I didn't get any qualifications.

My love was music.

In them days, I spent my time
with the northeast groups.

I used to work with them.

Oh, it's working now, is it? That's
good. It wasn't working yesterday.

I did my job. I set up.
I took down.

But bands come, bands go.
They split up.

I thought, "Oh, I'll get...
I'll get a proper job."

1978 I started here.

Going back, this is...the lights.
You had the lights.

This is a stage, this is the sound,
that's the audience.

This is the crew
and that's what it is.

That's exactly, exactly, what it is,
putting on a stage show.

I still enjoy it.

Right, that's OK. Put out there.

That's it. Done.

That's me done for this theatre.

How many times a day do
I wash my hands?

Can I steal a pen, please?

Bearing in mind, you'll never
see it again.

Oh!

Also preparing for a busy
day in theatre is

children's orthopaedic
surgeon Phil Henman.

The reason I

decided to pursue a career
in orthopaedics is the fact

that you... You have immediate
results from what you do.

Good morning. Morning.

Phil's next patient is
eight-year-old Violet,

who's arriving with parents
Penny and Stuart.

Violet has a condition called
in-toe, which has affected

the development of her feet.

She's had it since birth,
but we didn't really

pick up on it until
she started walking.

She would get really sore and achy
and I had to massage her legs.

She would have to slow down because
there's a risk of her falling.

Every other treatment Violet's had
has failed.

So today, Phil is going
to try to correct Violet's feet

through surgery.

Very occasionally, we get somebody
whose feet are so badly turned in,

we feel we ought to do something
about it and Violet's

a case like that.

So she actually physically trips
over her feet because they point

together so much. She gets teased
and bullied at school,

which isn't sort of a primary
medical reason for doing this,

but in terms of her quality of life,
it is one of the things

you take into account.

For Violet, this day hasn't come
soon enough.

Other kids at school,
are they mean sometimes?

Only one.

She usually calls us Penguin Feet.

What would you like from
this operation?

To play with my friends outside.

This is an unusual operation for us.

It's a common condition
in young children,

but most children grow out of it.

You'll come back to the ward, so
you get your lovely packed lunch.

Which you can share with
the doctor any time you want.

THEY LAUGH

Is that OK? Good girl. Well done.

So what I'd like you to do, if you
don't mind,

is go for a little wander out here,
so I can just watch you walking.

Is that all right?

You're aware of the fact
that from their point of view,

this is going to be a very
significant event.

OK, gorgeous. In you come.

When talking to patients
and particularly the children,

I'll make things as fun as possible.

The plan is operation on both sides.
Yeah. And the aim of this is to get

the feet into an improved position
in which she's less likely to trip.

There is no need to be unnecessarily
glum and serious about the matter

because it must... It is stressful,
coming into hospital

and particularly for
an operation for a child.

But the important thing -
really important thing -

what colour casts do you want?
Purple and red. Purple and red?

Excellent. And do you want some
sparkles or no sparkles?

Sparkles, all right. Fair enough.
Sparkles!

Purple, red trim, sparkles. Got it.

VIOLET'S MUM LAUGHS
Righty, see you in a bit.

There are risks to all surgery,
and specifically in this case,

one of the key things I've got
to protect is something called

the growth plate.

These are cartilage structures
at the end of all your long bones

and this is where you grow.

The risk is that damage
the growth can be devastating.

And very life-changing.

Here we go.

Morning, you OK?

Let's take them to on there,
them three nectarines can go.

One, two, three.

On the way to her weekly
team meeting is

neuro-physiotherapist Rachel Stout.

But it's not all business.

We have a weekly bake where
somebody's name and a theme

for the bake is pulled
out of two envelopes.

We've had some really
random themes, like the last one

I did was the beach, so I baked a
brownie, did some blue icing,

put some little foam shrimps on it
and then made some sand

out of biscuit.

Everybody looks a bit of cake,
cheer us all up.

Good morning and welcome. Just done
some cinnamon rolls... Aw, yes!

Yes! Cinnamon buns.
What do you call 'em?

Oh, delicious.

I don't really know how I fell
into physio, to be honest.

I couldn't have been a gymnast

because I got kicked out
of gymnastics as a youth

cos I couldn't do
a backwards roly-poly.

Still can't.

Right, who's up for next week?

Ashley!

THEY LAUGH, CHEER

I was convinced I was going
to be a vet for a little while.

I thought about doing something
else to do with animals

and then just thought,
"Well, they can't talk back to you,

"can't have a bit of craic."
Something unexpected.

Just don't bring anything in!
THEY LAUGH

An empty carrier bag!

And so, I was between being a
PE teacher or being a physio.

My parents are both teachers,
have told me, outright,

I was absolutely not going
into teaching.

So, well, the only other thing
was physio.

Thank you!

A lot of my family or people
that I don't know might say,

"Oh, you're a physio! Oh, if you
could just have a look here..."

And actually, that is nothing
to do with my job.

Neurophysio is the management
of any patient

that has had catastrophic
brain injuries

and also can have
catastrophic spinal injuries.

Have you got a cheese savoury
sandwich for us, please?

Cheese savoury sandwich, yeah?
Please. Mmm.

There's something in that.

A patient that Rachel has been
working with for the past ten days

is 51-year-old Jason.

He was working on the docks
in Sunderland

and a big pallet fell on top of him.
He broke his back.

And what that meant is that he had
compression on his spinal cord,

resulting in an inability for him
to be able to move his legs at all.

I don't know what happened.
Me mind's blank.

And the next thing I remember
is the paramedics

and everything being there.

Jason had emergency surgery
on his spine,

but has been unable to walk
since his accident.

He was at work and then suddenly
this has happened, and now

he's thinking, "Well,
am I ever going to walk again?

"What am I going to be able to do?"

I'm too independent. I don't
like relying on anybody.

Wish I could just go and get
a taxi or a bus home

and go and cuddle all my family
and say, right, I'm all better.

I'm a father of five
and I love them to bits.

And a grandfather of six.
I'll tell you what,

that would be the highlight
of my life, that.

Life has been tough for Jason.

Two years ago, his partner Anj
passed away.

But his family have kept him going.

Later today, Rachel wants Jason
to try to walk for the first time.

The reason I personally
get out of bed every day

is because if I can help someone
who's in the worst time

of their life, there's nothing
that can beat that.

Just gotta be strong.

Fingers crossed I can get those legs
sorted and this back sorted.

It's really odd.

I've known sister for 30 year.
I started here in 1978.

You started in 1981.

Arriving at the plastic surgery
department

is reconstructive plastic surgeon
and head of department Dan Saleh.

Morning.

And today he has
an important issue on his mind.

It's just simply a function
of British surgery.

It seems to be totally acceptable
to steal people's shoes

and wear other people's shoes.

So I've been sick of losing about
five pairs, so I got a pair

that stand out a bit
so if someone does nick them,

I'll see who it is and I'll reclaim
them, is basically the gist of it.

I'm reasonably affable and a little
bit childish, but hopefully

in a playful way.

They don't make proper sizes,
though. No, no.

Which I thought was very sexist.
So my feet hang out at the back.

But they haven't been stolen yet.
That's the key.

Plastic surgeons have
the biggest identity crisis.

Everybody thinks in plastic surgery
of cosmetic treatments, boobs, bums,

faces, necks, fillers, Botox,
whatever it may be.

And that is definitely an aspect
of the work that we do.

But that's sort of almost by proxy
to the reconstructive element

that gave birth
to our specialities.

Bye, love. Yeah. Yeah. Give my love
to everyone. Yeah, will do.

Dan's patient today is 74-year-old
retired teacher Bill.

who's back for the final
reconstructive stage

of skin cancer surgery.

Morning, Bill. Hello, Chris.
How are you? Here again.

Shall I take your bag for you?
I'm fine.

Bill first had a tumour on his scalp
removed 16 months ago,

but it returned.

This is all very subtle. It
broke out again about a month ago,

and I saw Mr Saleh very quickly,

within a couple of days.

Bill had urgent surgery to remove
the new tumour,

and a temporary dressing was applied
to protect the wound.

Mr Saleh did mention the sight
of where he's taking the graft from.

Right. Which is the thigh. Right.

So I said to him, can you make
sure it's a hairy bit of my thigh?

THEY LAUGH

The likely cause of the skin cancer
is UV sun damage.

I was raised on the east coast
of Yorkshire so as a child

I must have been in the sun,
on the beach, you know,

year after year after year.

I think long-term exposure
is the problem.

Taught and in Jamaica
and New Zealand.

I've had seven to eight years
in hot, UV, damaging countries.

It's my wife who's going to suffer
the most

because, obviously, as well as...

..the separation,

they've got concern about
how well you're progressing.

Good morning.

The hardest bit of the procedure's
over, getting the stockings on.

Yes. So last week we did
a relatively bold operation.

There's one area where the tumour's
quite close to the edge of the skin

that we took, so it's all out,
but only just.

So I want to take some more tissue
at that precise area. I'll see you

after the operation and I'll speak
to your wife afterwards.

And I'll see you a little bit. OK?
OK. Thank you very much. All right.

I have every confidence in Mr Saleh.

You should only worry about things
that you can influence.

Essentially, what has to be done
has to be done.

Working alongside Dan, Allan's
role is more than just delivering

patients to surgery on time.

It's all about coming in and making
sure the patient is at ease.

Hello. How are you? Are you all
right? I'm fine. How's things?

I'm quite good at that because I can
talk to patients really good.

So, Bill, it's been a couple
of weeks. A week. A week, yeah,

since we've seen you. Since I last
heard you sing. Exactly. Yes.

I might have a little sing-song
with you on the way up.

You sing Sound Of Silence. I did,
actually. I sang that last time.

And the problem is, you sang
and I heard you singing

a very obscure verse. Well, yes...
It took me about ten minutes

to go through the whole tune and
realise it was Sound Of Silence.

I don't know the words, you see.
I just make me own words up.

I'm happy all the time, you know,
and I laugh and sing

and whistle and stuff.

That whole journey between

coming from the ward to the
operating theatre is crucial.

Just going to pop you in here, Bill.
This is the anaesthetics room.

This is where you'll stay for a few
moments. This young gentleman here
will take good care of you.

Allan really helps with
their anxieties and their worries,

and he takes the edge off that.

All these different people coming
in, you tell them jokes.

Don't worry,
I'll just teach them, Bill.

But the staff says, "I've heard that
a million times before."

I says, I know,
but it's a different audience.

Every patient is different.

That constant, perpetual state
of happiness is something

that I think a lot of people
are probably jealous of in our team,

looking at Allan, particularly.

Shall we have a look at your maps?

We'll come back to that.

Dan is going to take away
an additional section of tissue

around the area of Bill's tumour...
Can you tell what it is yet?

..to make sure all cancer cells
have been removed.

That's where we've got tumour
very close to a margin.

We're talking about
half a millimetre. Right.

So we need to come a couple
of centimetres around that.

OK. And then we'll probably
take a dart of tissue there

where we get our vessels. OK.

Only once that's done,
can reconstruction begin.

The problem is, if it doesn't work
out and it doesn't go well,

that's a bit of a disaster. So all
you can do is plan well, I guess,

and then just execute
as best you can.

OK, ready, steady.

Thank you.

Have you met Poppy?
Poppy is the staff welfare hound.

Aw, look at your badge!

Oh, puppy, that's beautiful.

Clinical nurse specialist
Sean Marshall-Kellie

runs the urology stone centre.

Oh, I met someone in a bar,
Paula. When? On Saturday.

Oh! Well, why didn't you tell us
that yesterday? I didn't?

Must have completely forgot.

If my colleagues had to describe me
in three words,

it would be dramatic, vain...
and fun.

So maybe we'll be on to wedding
number two this time next year.

You need to get divorced first.
Oh, great.

Thanks for that minor detail.

THEY LAUGH

Today Sean is removing
hollow tubes called stents,

which are inserted during surgery.

His next patient is Christine.

She had a stent implanted two months
ago following kidney treatment.

Christine, come in.

So I'm Sean,
I'm the specialist nurse.

Have yourself a seat here for me.

They've left something called
a stent, which is a tube that goes

from the kidney to the bladder. So
we need to take that out, basically.

So how has it been? How has
the stent been? Terrible. Terrible.

The most painful thing. Oh.

Probably say a good 85% of people
suffer from stent symptoms.

They feel like they need to pee
all the time, discomfort,

the stretch and the kind of
getting an ache in their back

and their bladder.

Can you feel it when you're walking
around? Yeah. Yeah.

So hopefully you'll get some instant
relief. Literally takes minutes.

OK? It's a very, very quick
procedure.

The downside is you don't get to
spend much time with me chatting on

and listening to what
I'm having for me lunch

or what I'm having for me tea.

Right, I want you to lie
on this bed, Christine.

So this is your bladder here,

and this is a little devil that's
been causing all the problems.

You see that stent? I can see it.
Get rid of it.

Stent removal was historically
performed by doctors.

But these roles
are forever adapting.

So being able to take on a role
that was once fulfilled by medics

does make you feel more empowered.

I've probably done a lot more
than the doctor's done.

I'm just trying to get
a good grab on it.

It's like,
do you know those kids' arcades?

You know what I mean?
When you're trying to grab the...

Thing that you want and you can't.

VOICEOVER:
Stent removal is very fulfilling.

You see people
walk into the department

in the most uncomfortable
position...

There we are.

..and walk out, most of the time,
absolutely fine.

So you get to see
an instantaneous result.

It's the stent, so that bit's
been rubbing on your kidney

and this bit on your bladder.

So that's what's been causing you
all the discomfort.

Loads better than I expected.
Good. That's what we like,

a satisfied customer.

Right. You can just
get yourself dressed and go.

Thanks, Christine. Bye-bye.

Don't look at your feet.
Up nice and tall.

Bend your knees.

Yeah!

LAUGHTER

Well, it's the butterflies.

In theatre, orthopaedic surgeon
Phil is beginning the surgery

to straighten Violet's feet.

So, just marking the joints
just getting my eye in, really.

VOICEOVER: At the beginning
of the operation, I mark the leg

to locate where the joint line is,

to locate where the growth plates
are.

It forms a sort of map in my own
head of where everything is.

So X-ray again, please.

Very basically tells me
which bits to avoid.

Okay-doke. Lovely.
This side now, please.

What I absolutely must not do
is damage the growth plate

because that will have profound

long-term effects on the growth
of her leg

and any benefits she might have
from the surgery

will be completely negated.

With Violet's legs marked up,

Phil's calculations are
about to be put to the test.

So just being cautious,

I just don't want to go down
near the growth plate.

Yep. Good.
There we are, we've found the bone.

Orthopaedic surgeons love it
when they find the bone.

So I'm now going to put the wires
in. Just going to get the trajectory

of the wires and just checking
that I'm in the right place.

So that would be 20 degrees.

VOICEOVER:
To get the rotation right,

we put a wire in at what I judge
to be the number of degrees

that I want to adjust for.

Violet walks with her feet rotated
inwards, 20 degrees.

X-ray again, please.

Therefor if I de-rotate
her 20 degrees,

then her feet should point forward.

It's just DIY. You got it...

Right, what we're going to do now
is to divide the bone. OK.

Saw now.

I have operated in w*r zones
in the past.

The level of trauma that you see
in a w*r environment

is at a scale that you rarely,
if ever, see in civilian life.

It gives you that confidence.

Anything I see now is unlikely to be
as devastating as the injuries

that I've dealt with before.

That's fine. Love it.
OK, thank you.

The fun bit of the operation
is the actual rotational correction.

There we are. You can see the wires
are now moving.

Once the bone is fully divided
and free to move,

then by rotating those wires
together, we should,

if we've done our calculations
properly, we should have a foot

that's pointing forward
rather than inward.

So that is with her knee pointing
at the ceiling. Her foot is now

pointing at the ceiling, too.

Violet's right foot
is in the perfect position.

But Phil's job isn't over yet.

The next challenge is to get
the second leg pointing in

exactly the same direction
as the first.

Once more with passion.

Right, I've got something
to show you. Let's have a look.

Remember that? I can.
Many, many years ago.

Back in 1982, I reckon that was
taken. Do you think so? Mm-hm.

No, no.
I was a different colour hair then.

You were an '80s girl.

I was a New Romantic. That's what I
was, a New Romantic.

That there's a false tan, wasn't it?

I might have come back from Spain
or somewhere like that.

I've got the pedal.

Dan is operating on skin cancer
patient Bill.

He's removing extra tissue from
around Bill's tumour to ensure

no cancer cells remain.

Can I have a 15 blade, please?

And a swab.

We've had a real challenge
clearing his tumour, despite taking

a very large area from his scalp,

but with a...what we call
narrow margins and not enough

of the healthy-looking tissue for us
to be confident it's definitely out

so we've had to take a bit more
tissue on top of that.

We are being bold with this surgery.

He will go on to have some
radiotherapy, most likely,

and then I will feel very
comfortable when I see him

in my clinic in five years' time,

and he hasn't had another problem
in that time.

With the extra tissue removed,

Dan locates crucial blood vessels
in Bill's scalp

and reconstruction can begin.

So we've got an artery here,
and then we've got a vein just here.

So they will be what we call
our recipient vessels

to plumb the tissue from below.

All being well. Right, clamp, then.

We've got all the vessels isolated
so now we're going to take the piece

of tissue off the thigh.

Tempted just to take another
little edge of that off.

That's good, actually,
I'm happy. Right.

Getting the right sized flap
of tissue from Bill's thigh

is essential.

It's nothing more than doing
a template with your kids

on the kitchen table.

We're not far off being able
to disconnect it from the thigh now

and take it up the top.

But the biggest challenge

is to match up
the blood vessels accurately.

If you don't have blood supply
going in, carrying oxygen and normal

nutrients to the tissue
to keep it alive,

it will start to die away. A bit
like when you see black fingertips

or frostbite fingertips or toes.

The tissue will start to necrose,
is what we call dead tissue,

and that serves no good purpose
because he won't get healing

and he won't be able to go on
and get his radiotherapy.

This takes forever.

Yeah, I mean, what's it
now been? Two hours?

I want to know how it's going.

Hiya, you all right?

Have you been to the sewing room?

Sean is heading to the hospital
basement.

We're off to the sewing room

because I'm due a new uniform,

which happens every two years

and I've been going to the gym
and getting a bit hench.

I want to look good. I think people
should take pride in how they look

and I have a professional
senior job and I think

we need to have an element
of looking professional.

Nobody wants to come and see
a scruffy nurse.

Hello, ladies. Hiya, Sean.
Just for my uniform update.

Cos I've put a bit of weight on.
No, never.

Oh, me biggest fan!
No, no, do you know,

if I podge me belly out like that...
You're gonna have to stop eating.

Stop eating and get a bigger size?
Mm.

I thought you were going to grab me
belly there!

The sewing room here
are a bunch of treasures.

Do you think I need to into a 34?

Oh, I was already in a 34, man!

I thought I was in a 36.

All his uniforms have
got to be perfect.

It's like a sack of potatoes.

Look at the size of that!

Fits you. Does not fit us!

THEY LAUGH

I'm definitely not a 32, am I? No.

I'm absolutely devastated.

I once walked in and I was like,
what on Earth are you doing?

And she was she was cutting some
wedding dress up the back

and she was like, "Oh, we've got
a palliative lady who's dying,

"and we're basically amending this
dress so that it can just slide on

"her in our bed."
And I kind of thought, you know,

nobody knows that
that is going on here.

Are they fitting you round the
waist? Fitting us round the waist!
You're not pulling them up.

They come right down. I don't wanna
see your underpants. Look at that!

Me bum looks better in these ones,
don't they? God. Yeah. We'll go with

the 14s. Go on the top step
and I'll pin your trousers. Right.

VOICEOVER: I think they're unsung
heroes, I think they do a lot

of work that people don't see.
They're a good bunch of people.

it's been a pleasure, as always.
You too, love. I'll see yous

in two years unless I get
a promotion.

Thanks, ladies. See yous later.
Bye!

And then just some photos...
Oh, that is cute.

Looking really grumpy. Look at him.
And his little selfie.

In Theatre seven, Dan has reached
a critical stage in the surgery

to reconstruct Bill's scalp,

using a flap of tissue
from his thigh

to cover
where the tumour was removed.

This isn't going to work if these
blood vessels aren't together

in a good way. So this is definitely
a phase of the procedure

that needs a bit of thought

and a bit of just concentration,
basically.

It is delicate stuff, microsurgery.
You're under a microscope.

We're using sutures
like the thickness of a hair,

and the blood vessels in Bill's case
will probably be around

two millimetres wide. As long as
you're very careful,

he shouldn't have any problems.

Don't bugger it up.

Right. So we're happy with
everything, so we're going to start
stitching up now.

OK. Thank you.

Sewing in surgery is something
that you learn by doing

and by practising.

It's a rite of passage.

The wound on Bill's scalp will need
around 70 meticulous stitches.

My mum taught me how to sew my
swimming badges onto my shorts.

That was the first thing.
And then you'd have to unpick them

when you got, you know, put
a bit of weight on or grew,

new shorts, new badges. She knew
that I wanted to be a surgeon.

I think she recognised that that
was what I was gunning for.

And maybe she sewed those seeds
early doors, I think.

So that's it.

With the wound closed, Dan needs
to carry out a critical test

to establish if the tissue has the
essential blood supply it needs.

Just do it anywhere here,
it should be something.

Lovely. Good signal from
that Doppler ultrasound.

So that's it.
That went as well as we could hope.

Thank you, everybody.

Ready? Right, do you think we can
manage a couple of steps?

Oh, look at this, we're flying.

Awesome.

As Jason waits for his physio
session with Rachel,

he has a welcome visitor -
his sister Michelle.

Me nephew works with Jason.

Said that he'd had an accident,
not to worry.

Hello. You all right?
Yeah, not too bad.

But you cannot help but worry.

Ten days ago, his back was broken
in an accident at work,

and Jason hasn't walked since.

Knackered? Yeah.
It's hard work, isn't it?

It really is, honest to God.

Michelle is taking him off the ward
for a change of scene.

You need a shave.
Shall I bring your shaver through?

No, I'm having a shave
when I can walk.

When I'm done. That's me deadline.
Oh, there's a lift.

Oh... That's lovely, isn't it?

Want some...?
No, no. I'm fine.

It's changed his life but...

..he's not going to
let this beat him.

I think Jason will push himself
all the way. He's strong.

We'll get there, won't we?

I'll not be happy till I can get the
weight back on these feet...

..and start walking a bit
without the wheelchair.

Thank you very much. I shall see you
later. Right, I'm off.

When I can start walking, then...

..you will see a true fighter.

All right, Jase?

We've crashed about 15 times!
Aye, we're not the best drivers...

Hey, how are you, man?

Oh, and again! Aye, sorry, Jase.

In the physiotherapy department,
Rachel is about to start

her session with Jason.

How were your drivers coming down
here? Honestly, my sister took us...

She was... That was about them now.

THEY LAUGH

He's frustrated because he can't be

active, be on the go, go and do
things that he wants to do.

I'm not... I haven't done enough
to me for myself, but I'm not...

At least I'm on the go with it.
Jase, you're doing amazing, man.

Absolutely brilliant.
You're doing really good.

The progress compared to this time
last week is unbelievable.

There was none, was there? Cos
I'd never done any. No, exactly.

You'd never even sat in a wheelchair
this time last week,

and now you've been off
the ward twice.

You've been doing
standing work with us.

You've got the best in the business.
Oh, she's good'un.

She is a good'un.

We're going to use this leg
and this arm over to Hazel

and take your head and you're just
going to roll on to your side.

Rachel wants Jason to attempt
to walk for the first time

since his accident.

BED SQUEAKS

Could've done with a bit of
WD40 for this bed, mind! Indeed!

And me back. And your back!

THEY CHUCKLE

Even one step
would be a huge achievement...

Forward... Lovely.
Yes, that's what we want.

..to give him the boost he needs.

Just be there, Jase, OK?

He kind of feels like he's stuck
in a hospital bed at the moment,

and the challenge is, from our point
of view, is that, because he can't

fully feel his legs,

then when we get him
upright onto them,

he doesn't really know where
they are.

Right, now, from your bum,
come up tall.

Yes, mate, well done. Nice.

The big challenge is trying to

rebuild that connection.

Go on. And be there.

Now, do we need a breather
or are we OK? I'm OK.

A lot of people, when they're in
the acute stage of these

horrible accidents, they think,
"I'm never going to walk again.

"That's it. My life's over."
And that breaks my heart.

Come tall...

Right, and you should feel the
weight coming into your right leg.

Yeah. Go with the right.
Out to Hazel.

Yes! Beautiful. Right,
keep it there.

Yep. Well done. Beautiful. Right,
keep it there. Come over it.

Yeah, go on. Give it a little flick
more. Yes, mate!

Right, wait. Wait.

Right, stop there. We're going to
bring the chair in. OK?

Bring that right foot back
a bit, Jase?

HE STRAINS
Good man, there you go.

Don't worry. I've got you, mate.

Slowly down.
JASON: Oh...

Well done! You've just walked!

THEY LAUGH

Jase!

That was amazing, Jase.
Thank you, very, very, very much.

Oh, do you know how much it
means to us? Aw...

HE SIGHS SOFTLY
Best day of my life, this.

Yes! It is, honestly.

We'll take that. Oh...!

Seeing someone like Jason take a
step for the first time

is the most elating thing
I could ever describe

because I've had multiple
conversations with him about...

Will he ever walk again?
Yous have made me day. Good.

And when I phone me daughter next,
I'll say I've...

Literally, what a day.

She'll end up crying.
I bet her now, she will. She will.

Honestly, thank you.

Push myself all the way, that's all
I can do. Don't doubt it, Jase.

You're a delight, you're so
positive!

It makes such a difference,
genuinely. I've got to.

Got to, flower.

It's really difficult to try and
summarise how exciting or magical

it is when you help someone
take steps for the first time.

Right, let's get you back up.

The best comparison I've been
able to come up with

is thinking about how excited Gregg
Wallace gets about a dessert,

when he sees a really good, juicy
bit of brownie on a plate.

He gets so excited, so think
about that, times a thousand.

And there you go. You've got what
it's like to be a neurophysio.

Right, you ready?

You can be there... Hold tight!

Wire that. Mm-hm. Thank you. Yeah.

Phil has reached the critical
stage in the surgery

to correct Violet's feet.

Getting the details right
is very important.

OK, so...

There's nothing worse than looking
at the operation at the end

and thinking, "That one is still
a couple of degrees off

"from the other." So the closer to
perfection you can get, the better.

In this particular instance,

it needed to be as point-perfect
as possible.

I think that... What,
have you got her kneecap here?

I've got her kneecap...
MASK MUFFLES SPEECH

..rotated.

I think that looks pretty...
The same. Yep.

Good. Excellent. All right.

Surgery over, another important
matter needs to be addressed.

The colour of Violet's
plaster casts.

So she said that she wants purple
and she wants a bit of red trim

because her sister likes red
and everybody likes sparkles,

so we stick some sparkles
on at the end.

Yeah? All right.

Listen, none of this makes any sense
to me. Green or purple?

So that's green... So I'm red,
green, colour-blind,

which is the most common.

Teas, coffees, snacks...

Violet wanted purple casts.
Purple is very problematic for me.

It's essentially blue.

SINGSONG: Scissors!

Oh, they're...
Sorry, they're in my pocket.

I rely very, very heavily on my
colleagues for colour appreciation.

We come together over the colours.

I take a back seat and let
them make the decisions.

Sparkles!

Yay! Go for it.

Ready, steady, across.

Violet is finally ready
to be reunited with her mam.

Oh, here's Mam.

Hello, hen.

Oh, here she is.

Are you all right?

Having the ability to transform
somebody's life is clearly one

of the big satisfactions of the job.

The difference that this operation
has the potential to make

for Violet is considerable
because it's not just the physical

aspects of this.

Have you seen her casts yet, Mam?
No.

She's got some snazzy
ones on, haven't you?

Whoa. Look at them.

But I'm sure
what means most to her is the fact

that she gets teased.

Very glittery.

Sister's going to be well jealous.

This is going to absolutely change
the way she walks and therefore

change her life.

Aw.

Today's shift is drawing to a close.

HE WHISTLES AND HUMS

Bye, everybody. See you Monday.

And it's time for the staff
to head home.

Bye, sweetheart. Take care.

See you next week.

Oh, look at that.

Thanks for the uniform.
You're very welcome.

And thanks for the use of the iron.

Dan has one final visit to make.

I think when surgery goes well,
you do have a spring in your step,

and it feels like you've just done
some pretty hardcore exercise.

I'm very happy with how it
all looks, OK?

I spoke to your wife as well.
Thank you very much. Pleasure.

Your whole day could go by
and you feel you've only

been there for two hours,
and sometimes you're fatigued,

but sometimes you feel almost
like you could start a whole new day

again, right at that point.

Bye, guys, have a good one.

Bye, sister. I'll see you at home.

No, you won't!

LAUGHTER

It's a special place to work,
because there's great camaraderie

here. That makes it easy to work
in a team and the potential to make

a real significant change
to somebody's life,

it's what makes the job
particularly enjoyable.

Good morning, you all right?

Ward A is definitely
organised chaos.

That's a party.

We're looking for good swimmers.

Olympians, if you like.

They call me Sperm Boy.

The worst part on a woman is finding
the water pipe, and it's not

like the textbooks.

I mean, look at that.
That's... That is beautiful.

Not as long as even 20 years ago,

a lot of these operations
were amputations.