FIGHTING TO SAVE LIVES

A new documentary follows trauma units in some of the country’s busiest hospitals

- MISHAAL KHAN

A sudden traumatic injury can mean lives change in an instant. But what happens from the moment someone calls 999? Who are the extraordinary people whose job it is to save that life?

Emergency 21, a four-part documentary airing on C4 next week, will turn a spotlight on the London Major Trauma System, a network of hospitals, air ambulances, paramedics and doctors that provides a safety net for 10 million people across London and the South East.

From stabbings to car accidents to sports injuries, we hope these terrifying incidents will never happen to us, but what happens when it does?

Woman’s Own speaks to consultant anaesthetist Dr Tasha Newton, trauma centres and features in the documentary series.

‘I am proud of what we do’

Dr Tasha Newton, 45, is a consultant anaesthetist and trauma director at William Harvey Hospital. She lives in Ashford, Kent, with her husband Chris, 49, and their children William, nine, and Rupert, seven.

As the cameras swivelled across the hospital ward, I was barely aware of them or the gaggle of directors and crew behind them. A young man called Frazer had just been airlifted to the William Harvey Hospital, and he was on a hospital bed in front of me. His life was in our hands.

After falling 30ft from a cliff, the 17-year-old couldn’t move – he was paralysed and it fell to me to give him and his mum the devastating diagnosis. Beyond anything, he was terrified after experiencing a life-changing injury.