Critical Condition - Episode Guide

Geoff has been struck with excruciating head pain that left him semi-conscious, Stephen has suffered a potentially lethal stroke, and Adam is flown in by air ambulance after being involved in a car crash. In every case, the speed of the decisions made and the treatments that follow are vital.

Kieran is flown in from a road accident with multiple injuries and two ruptured arteries. Gary has a torn aorta and requires urgent but dangerous surgery. Roy needs emergency surgery to remove a blood clot in his neck. Jonty has numerous broken bones and possibly serious internal bleeding after falling through a skylight.

John has been stabbed numerous times and is rushed straight for emergency surgery. Teen footballer Adam has lost all sensation below his waist, so undergoes an MRI scan while his parents wait anxiously. Kevin was knocked unconscious by a cow's hoof on the dairy farm where he works, and could have a brain bleed.

David has been attacked with a machete, Richard's chest pains are not indigestion, Neil has come off his motorbike at 100mph, and Jack fell a substantial height onto his head. The hospital staff have seconds to decide on life-saving surgery.

A one-punch attack in the street leaves a man with a potentially devastating head injury, and trauma team leader Richard quickly realises he needs to perform emergency surgery on a bleed inside his brain. A young man arrives with multiple broken bones and suspected internal injuries following a motorbike accident, while a factory worker hopes the team can save his arm after a horrific accident with a circular saw.

A mother of one suffers a ruptured brain aneurism, leaving Dr Nayak just minutes to stop the bleeding. In resus, a patient's heart stops multiple times while Dr Mandava battles to save his life. A 17-year-old girl is critically injured in a car crash. As her parents race to her side, trauma leader Dr Hall works to identify her injuries and get her to emergency surgery.

Trauma team leader Julie Norton battles to save two patients whose lives hang in the balance. Father of four Ian is rushed in after suffering a cardiac arrest, while another man is bleeding so heavily he risks losing his entire circulatory system. Meanwhile, Ken has fallen from a roof onto a skip, leaving him with a gaping wound to his thigh and potentially life-threatening injuries to his pelvis and spine, and Dr Nayak helps Michael, who has suffered a severe stroke.

Thirty-eight-year-old Lesley is rushed in when her heart stops while she is driving to work, leaving Dr Morris battle to resuscitate her and investigate why a normally fit and well woman with no known medical problems would suffer such an attack. Abigail, aged 20, is treated for a painful neck injury caused by a riding fall, and 28-year-old Laura is brought in having a severe asthma attack. It is clear to Dr Fawcett she is deteriorating fast and that her heart could stop at any moment.

Will is rushed in after being stabbed multiple times by several assailants. Dr Pickering must quickly work out the trajectory of the knives used and how severe his internal injuries are. Fiona, a 38-year-old mother, has had a severe stroke, and Dr Nayak must remove the clot inside her brain, while Ivan arrives in cardiac arrest. Despite lifesaving CPR, he remains in critical condition - so now he needs a trip heart bypass.

A woman collapses unexpectedly during a day out with her family to an adventure park, and is left unable to move or walk. The trauma team leader diagnoses a bleed on her brain that requires urgent surgery. A neurosurgeon attempts to drain the build-up of fluid in her brain. A motorist suffers a cardiac arrest behind the wheel, caused by a large clot in an artery, and a van driver is airlifted to hospital after a major traffic collision.

Helen has an aneurysm in her brain that could burst at any time and lead to her death within minutes. For doctor Sanjeev Nayak there are no second chances as he embarks on an extraordinary operation to save his patient. Michael's life is also on a knife edge. After collapsing with a cardiac arrest, he was saved by a neighbour giving him CPR. But now the trauma doctors face a double battle - they must quickly assess his head injury and also remove a clot in his artery that is destroying his heart.

Katrina, 28, has been hit by a car while crossing the road. Her legs are badly broken but trauma team leader Richard Fawcett worries she might also be suffering from other internal injuries that could put her life at risk. Forty-two-year old Michael has had his second heart attack in two weeks, so staff act quickly to remove a blood clot, and 72-year-old Trevor is brought in after falling off a shed roof. He is losing lots of blood from a head wound, but even worse, he may have broken his neck.

Return of the documentary following medical staff at Stoke's Royal University Hospital. A young woman is admitted with life-threatening head injuries sustained in a car accident. Clinical director Dr Richard Hall must make split-second critical decisions. Can the team save her life?

Damion has sustained numerous traumatic injuries after being trapped upside down in his car following a crash. Despite numerous injuries to the head and chest, Trauma Team Leader Dr Chris Pickering is most worried about Damion's lungs as his patient struggles to breathe.

Cara has fallen 50 metres down a waterfall. She has multiple obvious injuries that need urgent care, but trauma specialist Dr Richard Fawcett must also investigate hidden internal injuries that are an immediate threat to life.

A man is rushed to the Royal Stoke University Hospital by helicopter after his parachute fails and he is slammed into the ground 100 feet below. Wayne immediately complains about chest pain, and a scan shows that he has broken his back, fractured his pelvis and has extensive internal bleeding.

Following the work of medical staff at Stoke's Royal University Hospital as they work to save the lives of sick and injured patients.

A 22-year-old arrives at the emergency department after crashing his motorbike at speed, and medical staff fear he may have suffered a life-changing spinal cord injury. Elsewhere, 60-year-old Nigel is preparing for an emergency operation to have a huge tumour removed from his stomach, and 80-year-old Alun is treated after suffering a traumatic accident at home.

When Duncan is admitted to Royal Stoke emergency department after falling down a full flight of stairs onto concrete, trauma team leader Richard Hall fears the worst. Elsewhere, a woman with a life-threatening brain tumour undergoes surgery to have it carefully removed, and a 21-year-old is treated after falling from a window and landing on metal railings.

When Rachel is admitted to the emergency department after a head-on collision with another car, trauma team leader Anthony Taylor fears the worst. Trapped inside her vehicle for over an hour, Rachel's condition is now critical. Anthony and his team know that time is of the essence. But before they can get her to a much-needed scan to assess the extent of her broken bones, her breathing deteriorates and it's a race against time to stabilise her and save her life. Across the hospital, Sally has been rushed in for emergency surgery. During a routine mammogram, it was discovered that Sally not only had breast cancer, but also an aortic aneurism. Already at twice its normal size, Sally's aorta is in grave danger of rupturing — which could prove life-threatening. Now Mr Warwick and his surgical team must navigate the risk of stroke and organ failure to perform complex open-heart surgery to give her the best chance of survival so she can begin her cancer treatment. Back in the emergency department, Shaun arrives as an emergency transfer from another hospital, after scans revealed multiple broken bones following an accident on his electric mountain bike. However, after examining Shaun, trauma team leader Richard Hall fears that he has yet more lifechanging injuries — potentially to his spine. The race is on to get him to an operating theatre quickly and safely. Finally, trauma team leader Diane Adamson treats Geoffrey, an 88-year-old farmer who has been attacked by one of his cows. Knowing a farmer's capacity for pain, she's on high alert. So when Geoffrey starts complaining of chest pain, Diane knows she will have to act fast before his condition deteriorates further.

This week, motorcyclist Danny is rushed into the emergency department following a highspeed road traffic accident in north Wales. He's already had two chest drains inserted into his lungs at scene to save his life, but what immediately concerns trauma team leader Diane Adamson is his blood pressure, which remains stubbornly low. Suspecting that he's bleeding internally, Diane rushes her patient to the CT scan, aware that his condition could deteriorate drastically if the problem isn't diagnosed quickly. Across the hospital, dialysis nurse Rita is booked in for life-saving surgery to remove her cancerous kidney. This is a time-critical procedure. The tumour is large and is starting to grow into Rita's veins, and consultant urological surgeon Mr Golash knows that he must act fast before the cancer spreads and the situation becomes inoperable. Back in A&E, trauma team leader Vicky Burnham helps Yuen, a 49-year-old female rushed in after being crushed by a tree. With a transected pancreas and a laceration to the liver, Yuen is in a critical state and Vicky fears she may have to go straight into emergency surgery. But the results of the scan cause a dilemma for consultants — should they operate, or should they not? Finally, the pressure is on for trauma team leader Richard Fawcett, who needs to stabilise Chris, a marathon runner who has collapsed during a race with heat stroke. As his internal temperature soars, Chris's body literally starts to cook itself to death and he begins to have seizures. Richard knows that he has to act fast, as he has a limited window to cool Chris down before his patient has multiple organ failure.

It's a busy night for trauma team leader Julie Norton, who is juggling two life-threatening cases who arrive at the emergency department within minutes of each other. Both have potentially fatal hidden injuries. Lewis, 18, is an emergency transfer from another hospital and has suffered a cardiac arrest after being stabbed in the chest with a 20cm kitchen knife. While his life has been saved by open heart massage, Julie knows that there's a huge risk that he has suffered other internal injuries in the attack that may be still be bleeding, and she must act fast before his condition deteriorates again. At the same time, Welsh farmer Eric arrives in huge pain after being headbutted by his favourite cow. While Eric's laboured breathing immediately suggests a chest injury, Julie is also worried about any other damage that might not be so obvious. A CT scan reveals a bleeding artery in Eric's liver and the race is on to get him to surgery before it's too late. For Vivienne, too, time is of the essence. She's been diagnosed with an aneurism in one of the body's major vessels and has a ‘ticking time bomb' in her head she's worried will erupt. For surgeon Dr Nayak, there's not a moment to lose, as he knows that if Vivienne's artery bursts, her chances of survival are slim. Finally, Andy is brought in with multiple injuries after a motorcycle accident. With broken ribs, spinal fractures and chest injuries, Julie Norton breaks the news to his wife and teenage family that while Andy has miraculously avoided paralysis, it's likely that his condition will deteriorate before he improves.

A 17-year-old is rushed in by helicopter after a mountain bike accident which has left him with a catastrophic head injury, and neurological registrar Bobby Sachdev knows that he needs to act quickly to prevent long-term injury or even death. Elsewhere, Joe and his wife Sheila both need urgent care after being badly injured in a major road traffic accident.

In this final episode of the series, when 52-year-old Helen is rushed into Royal Stoke emergency department after a headon collision with a bus, trauma team leader Paul Hancock fears the worst. With a blown right pupil indicating a serious brain injury, an urgent scan reveals a devastating skull fracture that could be fatal. Neurosurgeons act quickly to relieve the pressure on her brain, but when her partner arrives, Paul has to prepare him for the fact that Helen might not make it. Meanwhile, 65-year-old HGV driver Michael was at work when he suddenly began to display worrying symptoms of a stroke. Tests reveal he has a severe lack of co-ordination on his right side, and Dr Janaka knows that if he doesn't act fast, his patient could suffer permanent paralysis. The race is on to shift the blood clot causing the stroke to give Michael a fighting chance of making a full recovery. Across the hospital, 35-year-old Daria is preparing for emergency surgery to treat an aneurysm in her brain. It could rupture at any minute, potentially killing her in an instant. She's one of the youngest patients Dr Nayak has ever treated with this condition, and he urgently needs to insert a stent into her brain to block off the aneurysm. But when the procedure doesn't go to plan, Dr Nayak has to think on his feet to save the life of his young patient. Finally, 80-year-old Fred has fallen down the stairs at home and has a significant head injury. Trauma team leader Richard Hall isn't only concerned about Fred's external injuries, but also, crucially, as to why his patient fell in the first place. An ECG confirms his worst fears: Fred has suffered a heart attack and Richard now knows that his patient is at risk of having a second, potentially fatal arrest. With his patient's life in the balance, Richard has to work quickly both to treat Fred's external injuries and the serious cardiac condition he has just uncovered.

Following a car crash, 26-year-old Tino is rushed into hospital suffering from a potentially life-threatening aortic tear. After falling backwards on an escalator, Frank impaled his head on a metal step and the threat of blood loss is a major concern, and a university student is rushed in to have a tumour removed.

A man is rushed in with some of the worst facial injuries the team have ever seen, a woman has been badly injured in a road accident, and another has fallen in a care home.

The pressure is on for Dr Jamil Aslam when 64 year-old Barry is rushed into resus with suspected sepsis. Lucy is rushed into the Emergency department after her horse somersaulted while she was riding it, catapulting her to the ground and landing on top of her. Trauma Team Leader Paul Hancock fears she may never walk again. Ena is rushed in for emergency surgery to remove her bladder as it is riddled with cancer and 78 year-old Alan has a compound fracture. Student Paramedic Ethan is rushed in to the Emergency Department after being involved in an accident on the way home from work.

Sam, a 23-year-old man, is rushed into hospital with an excruciating pain in his lungs and coughing up blood, and the team suspect it may be a pulmonary embolism. Meanwhile, staff rush to attend a 66-year-old patient who has been found at home in cardiac arrest, and a man who has been living with unbearable pain in his legs for several years is finally having surgery.

Forty-two-year-old Robert is rushed into Royal Stoke after a cardiac arrest at home. While paramedics have re-started his heart, it's his crippling stomach pain that worries Trauma Team Leader Richard Hall the most. Learning that his patient has had the pain for nearly a month, Richard rushes him to the scanner where the team discover a perforated bowel is leaking faecal matter into Robert's body. Without emergency surgery, Robert's leaking bowel will poison him to death. Now the race is on to get him to theatre for an emergency operation – before it's too late.

A severe pain in the abdomen is also the concern for Matthew. He has been slammed into his BMX's handlebars after a high-speed accident. As Matthew's pain levels soar, Trauma Team Leader Julie Norton suspects that Matthew has significant internal injuries. But it's only when she sees the extent of the damage to his spleen after a scan that she realises just how seriously injured her patient is. Living without a spleen would mean a lifetime of powerful antibiotics and risk of infection.

When Mario is rushed into resus, his injuries are obvious. His legs have taken the full impact of an explosion from a gas canister and now doctors must open his wounds to remove dozens of dangerous clots before the circulation is severely compromised. Unless they act quickly, the risk is that Mario could lose his leg.

Finally, Jean is admitted after a fall down her stairs at home. She has excruciating pain in her back, but that's not what worries the medical staff the most. Each time they take her off oxygen, Jean's blood pressure drops dangerously and now the race is on to find the cause before her condition deteriorates further.

Trauma Team Leader Diane Adamson is put on high alert when a call comes in about a builder who has had a terrifying 25-foot fall through a roof. When Tomasz is rushed in, he's in excruciating pain, having landed heavily on his feet – with his lower body and spine taking the full impact.

Given his spiralling pain levels and knowing that builders only come to hospital when they really have to, Diane has major concerns about the potential damage to Tomasz's spine. Rushing her patient to the scanner, she confirms her worst fears: Tomasz has three spinal fractures – injuries which if not treated properly and immediately could leave him paralysed in a wheelchair for life.

Meanwhile, for 19-year-old Anya, there's not a moment to lose. Gasping for air, Anya is having a full-blown acute asthma attack, which is putting her young body under massive strain. Despite the paramedic's best efforts, Anya's condition has deteriorated rapidly on the way into the hospital and Registrar Sunday Ekaidem needs to act fast before her body shuts down completely.

Across the hospital, Melissa prepares for a time-critical procedure that is fraught with danger. Melissa, just 17 weeks pregnant and suffering from papillary thyroid cancer, must undergo surgery to completely remove her thyroid and 30 of her lymph nodes. Already a high-risk procedure, the operation must take place in her second trimester to avoid increasing the already high chance she has of miscarrying her unborn daughter in the middle of surgery.

Back in resus, a serious fall which happened four days previously has finally caught up with 59-year-old Tim. Having passed out at the top of the stairs and plummeted downwards, Tim had been trying to manage the agonising pain, until the discovery of a high concentration of blood in his urine, lead him to call the emergency services. Now the race is on to diagnose where and why Tim is internally bleeding.

Matthew is rushed into hospital after a collision between his motorbike and a tractor. His chest has taken the full force of the impact but there could be other, hidden injuries. Trauma Team Leader Mark Poulson desperately needs to assess all the damage before Matthew's condition deteriorates further.

After plummeting 15 feet onto concrete and his head taking the full impact of the fall, a man is rushed into resus with a significant laceration to his head. Meanwhile, a 38-year-old suffers a number of life-threatening fits after a potential blackout in falling downstairs, and another patient is rushed in after being run over by his own van.