24 Hours in A&E

24 hours in A and E

‘24 Hours in A&E’ is Channel 4’s largest every documentary series. Based at King’s it successfully reveals the true nature of working in an Accident and Emergency (A&E) Department; the life and death decisions, as well the passion and dedication of the A&E staff, who treat nearly 400 patients every day.

Each episode portrays the highs and lows of emergency medicine, and the way staff work together to treat people involved in road traffic accidents and violent assaults, as well as those needing treatment for minor injuries such as scrapes and cuts and bruises – all throughout a 24 Hour period.

Series 2 – Bigger and Better

King’s is once again home to 24 Hours in A&E, the award-winning Channel 4 documentary series about our Emergency Department.

Series two of 24 Hours in A&E – which goes to air on Wednesday, 16 May at 9pm – profiles the work of staff based in our Emergency Department, which treats over 130,000 patients every year.

The first series was a critical and ratings success – described by The Times as ‘a magnificent advert for the NHS’, it regularly attracted between 2.5 and 3 million viewers. It also won best documentary series at the Royal Television Society Awards in March 2012.

The new series of 24 Hours in A&E is bigger and better than before:

  • Filmed using 91 high definition cameras, 21 more than were used for series one;
  • Over 160 people made up the on-site production team based at the hospital;
  • Over 5,000 patients consented to be filmed, as did 500 staff.
  • 7,560 hours of footage were captured, and over 200,000 gigabytes of video and audio were recorded.

New areas

Series two will also feel a bit different to series one:

Children - who make up a quarter of all A&E attendances at King’s – will feature for the first time.

CT Scanner – Channel 4 installed cameras in the Emergency Department scanner. Funded by the hospital’s charity – it can perform a head to toe scan in just 15 seconds, and will feature prominently in the new series as it helps the King’s team decide the best treatments for their patients.

Trailer

Dr Malcolm Tunnicliff, Consultant in Emergency Medicine and Clinical Lead for the Accident and Emergency Department at King’s, said the new series would once again help to educate viewers:

“The first series of 24 Hours in A&E allowed us to show the general public – in a very real, un-sanitised way – the unique challenges my colleagues and I face every day. The response to series one was extremely positive but, more importantly, the programmes help us educate and inform viewers about modern emergency medicine, and the systems we have put in place to ensure the best possible outcomes for our patients.”

Futher information

For further information, Channel 4 website or contact Chris Rolfe, Head of Communications at King's: chris.rolfe@nhs.net 020 3299 3006.