LIFE OR DEATH DECISION
Moment NHS doctors choose between life-saving op for cancer patient or OAP bleeding to death… and the ending is heartbreaking
The new six-part documentary has sparked a huge debate
A DOCUMENTARY has exposed the heartbreaking life or death decisions doctors in the NHS are having to make each day, sparking a huge debate among viewers.
Last night BBC2 aired the first episode of its six-part series Hospital, which follows staff and patients around St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, London.
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In one case, the documentary showed two patients in serious conditions.
One patient called Janice was suffering from a ruptured blood vessel, while another patient named Simon, who is battling cancer, was waiting for an operation.
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However while both of them needed urgent treatment in the hospital's intensive care unit, only one bed was available.
Simon's vital operation - to remove the tumour on his oesophagus - ended up being cancelled for a second time due to a lack of space.
He was told that his operation would go ahead if Janice, who is on route to the hospital, dies before arriving in the building.
When asked how it makes him feel, he responds: "Guilty, actually."
In the episode's conclusion, the documentary reveals that Simon eventually died.
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Hospital was filmed between October and November last year, and hopes to showcase a typical day working in the NHS.
And the show has sparked an emotional reaction from viewers.
The documentary aired as the head of the Royal College of Physicians warned yesterday that the NHS is dealing with its worst-ever winter crisis.
Professor Jane Dacre said underfunding, lack of staff and problems with social care are making the situation worse than usual.
Asked how things compared with previous years, Prof Dacre told BBC Radio Four's Today programme: "My fellows and members say that it is worse.
"They are reporting to me that it is the worst that they have ever seen and that they are feeling disempowered and demotivated by finding it very difficult to know what to do about it.
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"Things have come to a head over the last week because there are reports from our fellows and members - and we have 30,000 fellows and members across the country - that the pressures are beginning to be unbearable.
"There are patients in hospital who are waiting in corridors.
"We have heard reports of some hospitals where they have allocated a consultant to be the corridor consultant to look after the patients that can't find beds.
"That's unacceptable."
In a letter to the Prime Minister, the Royal College of Physicians also warned that lives are being put at risk by the crisis in the NHS and social care.
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