24 Hours In A&E with terrific Ted and stupid Stuart

Aug 7 2011 by Roz Laws, Sunday Mercury

THE contrast could hardly be greater.

In one cubicle of King’s College Hospital was polite and dignified Ted who didn’t want to cause a fuss.

And in another was Stuart, the very definition of an idiot.

“I like to live life on the edge,” he declared. “If life is a breeze, it’s not really that entertaining for me.”

So to entertain himself, Stuart climbed a tree while drunk and fell 25 feet, injuring his spine. He was rushed to King’s where he received as much care and attention as Ted, although he clearly didn’t deserve it.

This was the excellent Channel 4 documentary series 24 Hours In A&E, which proved that the NHS is second to none when it comes to a crisis.

They dealt with all the patients professionally, even stupid Stuart and the bloke who broke his ankle while skateboarding down the shops at 3.30am. Though they did show a little impatience at the man who thought removing a splinter in his thumb that he’d had for a month was an emergency.

I take my hat off to the staff, like cheerful, squeaky-voiced Amanda, who said: “I like doing things for other people, that’s what makes me happy.” There should be more Amandas in the world.

It wasn’t until the end that we realised that Ted, who had bladder cancer, had died eight days after going to hospital. His wife bravely spoke about his demise before breaking down with a plaintive “Oh, I do miss him” which had me in tears.

I wish I’d caught more of this brilliant series sooner, as it’s the last episode this week. With any luck they’ll make more.