The BEST episodes of 24 Hours in A&E
Every episode of 24 Hours in A&E ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of 24 Hours in A&E!
Cameras film around the clock in some of Britain's busiest A&E departments, where stories of life, love and loss unfold every day.
#1 - Episode 9
Season 1 - Episode 9 - Aired 7/6/2011
The medical team faces a range of sport and drink-related injuries on a busy Saturday. But things turn darker when a family party goes horribly wrong, leaving a father and son with life-threatening injuries. Every year 750,000 people are treated at A&E for injuries suffered during recreational activities, mostly at weekends. Ball games account for 300,000 of those, with football the number one culprit, closely followed by rugby. But as evening approaches, sporting injuries begin to make way for the results of another favourite British recreational pastime - drinking. It's a huge issue: there were three million alcohol-related admissions to A&E last year, with half of the patients under 25. Two 19-year-old girls are waiting for treatment after falling when the bar they were dancing on collapsed, while bricklayer Colin has been badly cut by someone trying to mug him. But the evening takes a dramatic turn when a father and son, Morris and Jamie, are rushed into A&E badly injured after being attacked by gatecrashers, one armed with a Samurai sword, at a family birthday party.
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#2 - Vital Organs
Season 2 - Episode 5 - Aired 6/13/2012
This episode focuses on young men in their prime. One is a fitness fanatic who arrives seriously injured after a canal barge accident, while another is a pre-operative transsexual with a sore finger following a night's clubbing. Nineteen-year-old Josh is flown to King's College Hospital by air ambulance having been crushed between a barge and a bridge while working on a canal. A&E consultant Firas and his team set to work on the teenager. Once he's out of immediate danger their attention turns to a potentially life-changing injury - and every man's worst nightmare - a possible penile fracture. Despite their own fears, Josh's mum and dad attempt to lighten the atmosphere by cracking jokes, but for nurse Leanne it's no laughing matter: 'In the back of your mind you're thinking: You know, it might not be funny in the long run, because it could be something serious. He's only 19. He's probably going to want a family...' In minors, best friends Liam and Nicola are recovering from a Sunday night out clubbing. But an injured finger isn't Liam's only concern. He's also thinking about his upcoming gender reassignment, which will require hormones and - eventually - surgery. Meanwhile, in resus, 80-year-old Jean has been brought to King's by ambulance after collapsing at home. Jean has terminal cancer; she's exhausted and anaemic. Jean's husband, John, is her greatest support. 'You're everything, aren't you: the nurse, the chef,' says Dr Catherine. Jean and John have been together for over 60 years; it's their tender, supportive relationship that helps them to cope. 'He deserves a medal,' says Jean.
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#3 - Episode 2
Season 1 - Episode 2 - Aired 5/18/2011
The second programme in the series reveals the stories of individuals who started the day with little in common, but found themselves being treated by the King's A&E team in the same 24-hour period. A day that, for many of them, would change their lives. The 'red phone' from the ambulance service rings, signalling the imminent arrival of a seriously ill patient. Thirty-one-year-old Brendan has had a head-on collision between his motorbike and a car, 'bulls-eyeing' the windscreen. Brendan's broken both his wrists, but he's most worried about injuries to his testicles: he's so bruised that his penis looks like a 'purple carrot'. And he's decided to hang up his bike keys. Teenager Alex turns up with nasty injuries to his hand after punching through a window. Will he learn a lesson once he's been patched up by the A&E staff? Meanwhile, sisters Pat and Alice are concerned about when they can get a sandwich from mobile tuck-shop operator, Pritpal. And after the Resus team struggle to revive two patients in their eighties, they discuss what they would want done for them in a similar situation.
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#4 - The Courage To Go On
Season 14 - Episode 8 - Aired 2/20/2018
Zach, who's 25, is rushed to A&E after completely severing four fingers in a building site accident. A&E staff and plastic surgeons work hard to assess the damage and stem the extremely bloody wound. Zach and his girlfriend Betsy wait anxiously to find out if his fingers can be re-attached. Former teacher Ricky, who's 85, has hurt her back after falling at home, and 10-year-old Daquon was hit by a motorbike when he was on his way to school. He has memory loss and a badly broken arm.
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#5 - Candle in the Wind
Season 12 - Episode 21 - Aired 4/10/2017
This episode focuses on some of the youngest patients who visit A&E and the staff who care for them. Eight-year-old Billy is rushed to St George's after being crushed by falling bricks that were being stored on his front drive. His dad Shaun recounts the horror of finding out about the accident: 'I was in the back garden... I heard a scream and I wasn't too sure if it was Billy, when I ran out there it was just horrible, absolutely horrible.' An X-ray reveals that Billy has fractured his femur and he faces emergency surgery to give him the best chance of walking normally again. Six-year-old Luther has a metal washer stuck on his finger.
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#6 - Episode 3
Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 5/25/2011
In the third programme, eleven-year-old Kofi is rushed into Resus, critically injured after being hit by a van. His father, Wayne, sits by Kofi's bedside praying for his recovery: 'I remember when Kofi was born I counted all his fingers and toes and held him in the air'. Meanwhile, 73-year-old Roger Jackson is coming to terms with his own mortality. A member of The Tornados, the first British group to top the US chart in the Sixties, Roger confesses that, despite having cancer, he wouldn't give up his rock 'n' roll fame for his health. Back in Resus, senior consultant Chris Lacy is tested to the limit when three trauma patients arrive in quick succession: one has been shot in the face, another has been stabbed in the chest and a third has been knifed in the head. As armed police arrive and a gang gathers outside A&E, tempers flare and Chris calls for calm as Kofi fights for his life.
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#7 - Do No Harm
Season 8 - Episode 4 - Aired 1/28/2015
Eleven-month-old Isabel is rushed to St George's after suffering a fit and losing consciousness, while 22-year-old Felix is brought to A&E with a self-inflicted stab wound to his stomach. Retired engineer Bill, 68, fell 15ft from a ladder while cutting a leylandii hedge. He arrives by air ambulance with breathing difficulties and suspected multiple fractures.
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#8 - You Raise Me Up
Season 12 - Episode 9 - Aired 1/10/2017
This episode focuses on how love can pull you through the hardest of times. Michelle, who's 54, is airlifted to St George's after being involved in a car crash with her husband Paul in Surrey. She was given a blood transfusion at the scene and doctors work quickly to get her to CT to ascertain the full extent of her injuries. Her daughter Toni talks about when her mum was diagnosed with depression, anxiety and split personality disorder and how her dad gave up work to become Michelle's full-time carer. Derren, who's 41, has fractured his ankle while trampolining with his 12-year-old daughter Macie. Doctors are concerned that the injury may have affected the blood supply to his foot and need to work quickly to realign his ankle.
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#9 - In Sickness and in Health
Season 12 - Episode 8 - Aired 1/3/2017
This episode focuses on the bond between married couples in the face of testing circumstances. Corey, who's 27, is rushed to St George's after suffering a cardiac arrest during a game of ice hockey. His wife of seven days, Alice, was watching him play when he collapsed. As Corey arrives in Resus, the medical team learn that his brain has been deprived of oxygen for over 25 minutes and doctors put him in an induced coma to prevent further damage to his brain and major organs. Nurse Liz talks about the difficulty in predicting the long term outcome of cases like Corey's: 'until the patient has woken up, you've got no idea how this has affected them, how badly brain damaged they've got, how they are going to function.' John, who's 55, fell 10 feet while taking down scaffolding at home.
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#10 - Free Fall
Season 8 - Episode 8 - Aired 2/25/2015
Keen rugby player Robert has a dangerously high heart rate and may need to have a pacemaker fitted - a scary thought for the nine-year-old's father. Mark, 32, has fallen 30ft from scaffolding while doing some DIY, and there's concern he may have damaged his spine. Christine, 74, arrives in A&E after an accident in her garden, and she's suffered nasty injuries to her face.
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#11 - Time of your Life
Season 12 - Episode 4 - Aired 12/7/2016
This episode focuses on the bond between families and what holds them together through thick and thin. John, who's 84, is rushed to St George's after losing control of his car and crashing into a road sign. He bullseyed his windscreen, and when his blood pressure drops dangerously low doctors declare a Code Red, giving him an emergency blood transfusion. As doctors discover that John has a broken pelvis and will need emergency surgery, his wife Gwynaeth talks about how she's leaned on John over their years of marriage: 'I don't think I know anyone else who I could rely on who could get me over the humps.' Reggie, who's seven, has broken his arm while doing a cartwheel to celebrate England beating Wales at Euro 2016.
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#12 - Take Care
Season 9 - Episode 4 - Aired 6/17/2015
The A&E documentary series turns its attention to care and kindness at St George's Hospital in south-west London, highlighting altruistic acts from staff, patients and visitors alike. A 13-year-old cyclist experiencing bouts of unconciousness is sent for a CT scan, and 84-year-old Ursula, who was born in Germany, arrives in resus having lost a lot of blood during a series of severe nose-bleeds. Plus, 76-year-old Margaret is brought in to St George's after suffering a suspected stroke during a routine appointment at another hospital, and the doctors must quickly administer a clot-busting drug if they are to prevent further damage to her brain
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#15 - The Unknown
Season 14 - Episode 1 - Aired 1/2/2018
This episode follows staff as they unravel the mystery of an unknown patient who arrives after collapsing and falling face first in the street. The team manage to contact his two daughters as they race to find out what may have caused him to fall unconscious. Twenty-nine-year-old Rick comes to minors after an accident at the gym, and three-year-old Marigold, who has signs of a chest infection, is in paediatrics with her mum Helen.
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#16 - The One
Season 9 - Episode 2 - Aired 6/3/2015
Pub landlord Tony is brought in with burnt legs as a result of his barbecue gas cylinder exploding - made slightly worse by the fact he was only wearing boxer shorts at the time. Henry, a 93-year-old war veteran, is rushed in with severe breathing difficulties, and builder Bill was knocked unconscious after falling off his shed. His CT scan reveals he has broken his neck in three places, and he may need surgery to avoid damage to his spinal cord
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#17 - Boys Don't Cry
Season 6 - Episode 7 - Aired 6/16/2014
Max, 16, is brought to King's College Hospital by air ambulance after falling 14ft onto his face at a skate park, and the results of the CT scan show a life-threatening bleed on his brain, meaning the next 12 hours are critical, as well as being an agonising wait for his parents. Meanwhile, 13-year-old Hector has injured his hip playing football and needs an X-ray to confirm whether his leg is broken.
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#19 - Wake Up Call
Season 5 - Episode 4 - Aired 1/29/2014
This episode shows how a trip to A&E can act as a long overdue wake-up call. Malcolm, who's 56, has been rushed to King's after suffering a cardiac arrest, and is on life support. His wife Heather found him when his heart stopped and she managed to resuscitate him after two minutes, before the paramedics arrived. Heather and Malcolm's daughters feel that his survival was fate as Heather wouldn't usually have been at home to save him. Phil, who's 36, has come to King's with chronic pain in his back and side. Nightclub host Phil lives on tequila and milk, with virtually no solids. It's clear that Phil's party lifestyle, including over 100 units of alcohol a week, is taking its toll. As he's treated, Phil reflects on living the life of a 21-year-old at 36. Meanwhile, 12-year-old Kamilla is rushed to King's after being knocked down by a car on a pedestrian crossing on her way home from school. Doctors are worried that she has injured her head and neck. While Kamilla is scanned by doctors, her mother Nora talks about coming to England from Lithuania, her first impressions of London and her strong bond with her daughter. Finally, 61-year-old Bob has come in to A&E after developing numbness in his arm. Medics discover that Bob has suffered a stroke. His son Steven talks emotionally about what his father means to him, while he tries to keep a sense of humour.
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#24 - Allergic to Pain
Season 2 - Episode 4 - Aired 6/6/2012
This warm-hearted episode explores the different ways that grown men deal with pain and injury. Fifty-year-old builder Jim arrives in A&E screaming in agony after dislocating his shoulder in such an unusual way that it takes a five-strong team to pull it back into place, while 30-year-old Temi is in minors with a broken toe. But Temi is actually more concerned about whether the crutches he's given will match his sense of style! Meanwhile, a patient who had to have one of his legs amputated in 2009 has just returned from holiday with his remaining leg dangerously swollen, and 83-three-year-old James has a cyst on his knee but is in so much pain that he's refusing treatment. It's senior sister AnnMarie's job to persuade James to stay in overnight...
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#25 - Lean On Me
Season 9 - Episode 5 - Aired 6/24/2015
This time highlighting the stories of patients who received support from loved ones when life became tough. Gerald, a 66-year-old trained lifeguard and polo club official is rushed into A&E, having sustained a serious head wound after a 10-foot fall. The friends and family of 55-year-old Beverly gather at the hospital when she is admitted with a broken leg after being hit by a car near her home, and Paul, a 39-year-old father-of-three, arrives in resus with a nasty cut to his right arm. Paul complains that he is unable to move his fingers, leading staff to believe be may have significant tendon or nerve damage that could leave him permanently unable to use his hand
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