The next episode of 24 Hours in A&E airs tonight (Monday 10 July) - and features the case of a 16-year-old boy with sepsis. Reporter Rebecca Sherdley spoke to the doctor who treated him
Nottingham-born Dr Philip Dykes treated 16-year-old Kaeden who was rushed into Queen’s Medical Centre with complex medical needs after developing a fever at home. Dr Dykes, from Leicestershire, suspected sepsis and worked to find the cause.
As the RTS award-winning documentary returns from its new home at QMC - one of the busiest A&E departments in the country, where Dr Dykes is based - the episode hears from Kaeden’s mother, Gemma, about her son's struggle with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.
Series 1, Episode 8, follows Kaeden's journey over the last three years, and how the family has coped with the struggles the diagnosis presented. Dr Dykes, speaking to Nottinghamshire Live, before the Channel 4 episode at 9pm, recalls: "With my case with Kaeden, it was a fairly significant case, in that he was quite poorly and he has got underlying health conditions which sort of predisposed him to be poorly.
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"He was actually quite sick at the time and so, thankfully, his mother agreed for it to be aired, because she thought it was important. It was almost like showcasing what we do, but also the fact that this happens to children.
"I think the family have been really engaged in the whole process and they have given loads of interviews with 24 Hours in A&E. "Kaeden had underlying cancer and, in treating cancer, you have to have a line put in - it's like a canular - but this is an indwelling longer line, so we don't have to keep piercing his skin to take blood, etc - we can just take it straight from the port.
"And then these lines tend to get infected, often because it is a foreign material into the body with access to the outside world, so they are at risk of something called sepsis - where you get an overwhelming response to an infection, where your body basically goes into overdrive to try and treat it - but, in time, causes you significant harm. It causes your organs to shut down etc.
"He had sepsis, so needed a series of antibiotics, fluids. I think we got intensive care involved at one point.
"We give fluids out to help with the blood pressue but, sometimes with the sepsis response, even though you give them fluid to try and improve their blood pressue, it still doesn't work, and then they need special medication which is only given in intensive care".
This is Dr Dyke's doctor's first time in front of the camera - and the whole process was fairly straightforward, he says. The new series coincides with 75th anniversary of the NHS.
Dr Dykes, a married dad of two, says there are plenty of challenges. "I suppose for me is the fact that everybody wants the NHS to be here, everyone loves the NHS. It's like a love/hate relationship. It is like Marmite.
"You love it or hate it. People love the idea but, when it comes to it, the problem is the entitlement to 'now culture', so the way that patients can speak to you. Speaking to some of my more senior colleagues, you know, and they remember a time when the profession was noble and patients addressed you politely.
"But now they think they can swear at you, they can say what they want to you, tell you what they think of you, demand stuff, 'I need this doing now'. 'I have an appointment with my GP in two weeks' time...but I need to know the answers now' - that kind of thing. That's the hard bit.
"And I think what part of this is an accident or an emergency - it's not, why did you not wait (for the GP appointment), and that is the way society is these days".
He enjoys the team, and the nurses he works with, adding: "They are a good bunch of nurses. They are hardworking, dedicated, I have a really nice rapport with the nurses.
"It is the team that really makes this place and, as cliche as it sounds, it is like a family - it's nice. Behind every doctor is a great nurse - that holds so true. It is nice to have that team-working atmosphere and coming together to achieve that common goal. That is super satisfying".
Also in tonight's episode is 63-year-old Paul. He arrives at A&E after partially amputating his thumb at work.
Paul shares his experience of growing up and working in the Midlands and going on strike during the 'Winter of Discontent' in the late 70s. The episode hears from his wife Eileen about her worries for him on the picket line and how they pulled through together.
Meanwhile, former RAF fighter pilot Steve is in Resus after falling from his motorbike. Doctors suspected he has broken his femur.
Steve’s wife Pat talks of his lifelong passion to fly jets and how he made his dream a reality. Pat explains how Steve struggled after his flying career stopped and how he filled the gap with an adrenaline-fueled hobby.
During September and October 2021, the Trust welcomed cameras into the Emergency Department at Queen’s Medical Centre for the first series to be filmed outside of London. A total of 24 programmes were recorded and the first seven episodes were broadcast earlier this year. You can catch up on previous episodes at channel4.com.
