After collapsing at work, crane driver Phil is becoming increasingly paralysed with each passing day. Kevin O'Neill, one of the country's leading brain surgeons, diagnoses him with a fast-growing brain tumour and decides to perform a potentially life-threatening operation to remove it. But as the clock ticks, securing theatre time for Phil is not straightforward in a hospital approaching full capacity.
O'Neill and his colleagues deal with some of the country's most complex and challenging neurological cases. Their work is so in demand, the department has one of the longest waiting lists in the country.
But the hospital is determined to clear the backlog of patients, some have been waiting for their operations for over a year. The pressure is on for O'Neill and his team to get through a packed list.
At the same time the Trust is pioneering a form of non-invasive brain surgery that replaces knives and drills with MRI focussed ultrasound waves. Consultant neurologist Dr Peter Bain says: "The first time I saw an operation like this was on Star Trek". One of his first patients is Selwyn, a 52-year-old painter and decorator with an uncontrollable tremor. If successful, Selwyn's operation could pave the way for significant reductions in brain surgery recovery times and, potentially reduce patient waiting times for some brain surgeries .
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