Hull’s hospital heroes will be back on our screens in the New Year as A&E After Dark returns for a second series.
The Channel 5 docu-series, produced by Crackit Productions, first broadcast in June this year and follows the night shift at Hull Royal Infirmary with a specific focus on the emergency department and staff working in urgent care.
Series two was filmed over a two month period in the autumn of this year, and the first episode of the new series will be broadcast on Channel 5 at 9.00pm on Monday 4th January 2021.
A&E After Dark will once again accompany Hull’s team of dedicated doctors, nurses and other healthcare specialists as they respond to out-of-hours falls and fractures, assaults and overdoses, car accidents and cardiac arrests. What will be unique about this series is the insight it gives into caring for patients in the context of Covid-19, including the additional stresses and strains it not only places on health services but on the people working within them.
Chief Executive of Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Chris Long, says:
“A&E After Dark provides a very realistic look at the clinical challenges, the emotional dilemmas and the often difficult decisions our staff have to make on a nightly basis. Being able to respond to the unknown, day in, day out, and have lives depending on you takes a special type of person, but when you consider all the extra challenges presented by Covid-19 over the last nine or ten months, the team has been nothing short of amazing.
“We felt it was important for the public to see and to understand not only the operational impact that coronavirus is having on emergency care, but how it has affected staff on a personal level too. Staff have to try and put their own fears aside about the virus when they come to work, but through A&E After Dark, we still see some of the difficulties Covid-19 causes for staff; their ability to connect with patients and communicate with each other through layers of PPE, the abuse they receive from people who don’t want to follow infection control rules, and in some cases, the crucial extra seconds Covid safety preparations add when getting ready to receive critically ill patients in the hospital.
“ED staff have been incredibly open and brave in accepting cameras in to document what is a really important point in history. I have nothing but admiration for our incredible emergency care staff and those they work with to keep people safe; the radiology staff, the security team, the orthopaedics, plastics and critical care outreach staff to name a few. As a city and as a region, we should be incredibly proud of the people we have here caring for us and I hope series two of A&E After Dark shines a light once again on the fantastic work they do.”
Dr Chris Srinivasan, consultant in emergency medicine at the trust (pictured, right) says:
“Our emergency department really is the front door to the hospital; you never know what is going to come in but our staff have to be ready for the unexpected at all times.
“While we have seen a fair amount of Covid-related activity this year, we have still continued to see many of the other injuries, illnesses and major trauma cases which are typical for the A&E night shift and these are reflected throughout the series.
“For me, the challenge and the sheer variety of cases are what make working in emergency care so exciting and I think many of the team would say the same. Much of this work goes unseen by the general public though, so this is our opportunity to explain how and why some of our urgent work can lead to longer waits for other patients, for example, as well as to showcase the first-class facilities and the outstanding team of health professionals we have here in Hull.
“In watching the second series, I hope viewers will not only gain a better understanding of what goes on behind the scenes at the hospital, but will also develop a new respect and appreciation for the amazing people who are here to care for them should the worst happen.”