BBC’s newest medical documentary, Saving Lives In Leeds, will soon air a new episode this week. Revolving around Leeds General Infirmary in the UK, this documentary shows us the inner workings of the hospital and the various kinds of cases that it has in a day.
Airing since March 1, 2023, the show has managed to gain attention due to its completely raw portrayal of the tense environment a hospital usually operates in. We get to see the anxiety and nervousness both patients and doctors have right before major surgery. All of the doctors at the hospital work with only one goal: to make sure that their patients receive the treatment they’re looking for at the right time.
Since the filming for the series was right after the lockdown was lifted, the hospital is filled with patients, and the waiting list even goes back a year or more. Saving Lives in Leeds represents the handwork and effort that goes into each patient and the happiness that comes from treating them successfully.
The show does show clips of the operations, so if you’re weak-hearted, you can skip these parts. This documentary will have about 8 episodes for its first-ever season.
Saving Lives In Leeds Episode 1: Recap
The first episode of the series begins with the doctors in the neurology department of Leeds General Infirmary. The day starts with the first patient being treated by Kenan Deniz, one of the leading neurologists in the hospital.
Karen, aged 49, comes to the hospital to see if she’d need surgery for her brain tumor. When the scanning reports come back, the doctors immediately add her to the surgery list as her tumor has been spreading rapidly.
She agrees to the surgery despite being afraid of it, and the doctors try to assign a bed for her. With more than 400+ cases, the available beds are at an all-time low. Another patient arrived, named Jean.
This 72-year-old was suffering from a risky Aneurysm that could end up bursting anytime, making her a priority for the surgery list. Dr. Kenan talked to the hospital management and found out that there were no available beds, causing the surgeries to be delayed.
After a few hours, a single bed slot is made available, and Dr. Kenan has to decide who he would perform the surgery on first. Both his cases were concerning, but after evaluating the risks, he decided to operate on Karen.
Another department we see is the hand and plastic surgery department, where an operation is performed by Prof. Simon Kay. Jamie, aged 38, has been waiting for two years for the perfect donor hand. He had gotten electrocuted years ago, which left him without any hands or feet.
He remained a strong fighter and was finally able to get a good match. The surgery itself was going to be a tedious one as two different teams would be working in different rooms and then coming together as one.
When the operation starts, everything proceeds rapidly to avoid the hand staying away from oxygen for a long time. When the donor’s arms are ready to be attached, Prof. Simon Kay fixes the hands into the plates that were screwed into Jamie’s hands. Veins are connected, and the doctors check to see if the blood is flowing. They prick into the finger and are relieved to see that the blood is flowing as it should.
At the pediatric department, Dr. Adelle Fishlock works on two cases where surgery was a must. In one of the cases, a small injury being left untreated led to the dislocation increasing much more over the months. Declan, aged 13, has cerebral palsy and has been waiting for a year for his surgery. Hamza, a similar child, was also in need of surgery.
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Saving Lives In Leeds Episode 2: Release Date
The next episode of the hospital documentary, Saving Lives In Leeds Episode 2, will be aired on March 8, 2023. New episodes of Saving Lives in Leeds are released on Wednesdays, with each episode having a run time of 59-60 minutes.
Saving Lives In Leeds Episode 2: Spoilers
In the upcoming episode of the show, we’ll be seeing Naved Alizai, a pediatric surgeon that will help two different kids with their surgeries. Since he works in the Hepatology department, both cases will be treated through liver surgeries. A new doctor is introduced when seeing the case of a tumor patient. Emma Collins and Sheila Fraser will be coming in together to help a patient that has developed a tumor in the neck.
Saving Lives In Leeds: Where To Watch?
New episodes of the medical show will be released on BBC Two at around 4:00 pm EST for viewers from the UK. Od-demand viewing of the episodes is possible through BBC Iplayer. The timings of release in other countries will be:
- United States: 11:00 am, Wednesdays, March 8, 2023
- Canada: 11:00 am, Wednesdays, March 8, 2023
- Australia: 3:00 am, Thursdays, March 9, 2023
- India: 9:30 pm, Wednesdays, March 8, 2023
- Philippines: 12:00 am, Thursdays, March 9, 2023
- Germany: 5:00 pm, Wednesdays, March 8, 2023
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