01.31 - 18th Feb 2008
Kieran (Mark Wells) greats an 18 year old girl, Hannah, as she is wheeled in having been found, collapsed, on a pavement. Vague, Hannah explains that she was in a club with friends, leading Kieran to suspect that she has taken Ecstasy. Hannah’s mother, Caroline, comes flying through the hospital doors, terrified of what may have happened to her daughter. Caroline instantly assumes that her diabetic daughter has forgotten her insulin, but is horrified when Dr. Ormerod, who is now on the case, explains that Hannah has taken pills in a nightclub. Fearing the worst, Caroline instantly offers her own kidney if it’s compatible and asks to be tested. Dr. Ormerod thinks she’s going a step too far, but eventually agrees. Following the tests, Jonathan pulls Caroline aside and tells her that she has Hepatitis C. Stunned, Caroline admits that she injected herself with drugs in the seventies, but as the news sinks in she realises she’ll have to explain to her daughter. As Hannah’s health is finally starting to improve, how will she react when she learns that her mother may have passed on to her a self inflicted blood disease?
Over at the nurses’ station, Heather is waxing lyrical about her wedding day until Pearl asks if she’s set the date. Heather admits that it’s not booked yet, and she sets about twisting her fiancé’s arm. As she explains to Adam that the best deals go to those who book early, a worried looking Adam is seemingly saved by the bell as the fire alarm goes off.
Elsewhere in the hospital, Enid, a woman in her late 70s comes in with her son, Mark. Enid is clearly reluctant to be in hospital but she is in pain and has a suspected broken arm. Mark has dragged his mother in as, despite her believing her bones will fix themselves, a three week old injury has shown no signs of improvement. Sarah Chatwin eventually talks a reluctant Enid into having an x-ray, but Vijay can’t work out why her bones are refusing to heal.
Meanwhile, Norman’s playing with some walkie talkies, which he’s picked up from a car boot sale, and he and insists that Kristaps plays with him. When a fire alarm goes off for a second time, Norman gets out his walking talkie and asks Kristaps to proceed to the cleaning cupboard to investigate. Norman suspects the cleaner, Jeanette, has been smoking and that’s what’s set off the alarm, but as Norman closes in, he finds his culprit, Enid, with fag in hand. All becomes crystal clear, and Sarah explains to Enid, who has a 40-a-day smoking habit, that nicotine makes the vessels constrict, so less blood goes to the bone; explaining why her arm couldn’t heal. Will Enid finally take the advice that is given to her?
01.32 - 19th Feb 2008
As the medical team walk towards the hospital to start their shift, Mr. Woods notices Alana looking unusually glum. As he tries to lighten her mood, she is clearly not impressed, and he is left wondering what’s rattled her cage.
Over in A&E, Sahar, a woman in her 30s, is lying in pain having been admitted with facial cuts and one of her shoulders carried lower than the other. Sahar, who is accompanied by her friend Maya, explains that a shelf collapsed on her in the kitchen at home, hitting her head. Kieran examines her and finds there’s quite a lump. There are some shifty looking glances between Maya and Sahar before Maya says she has to leave. Carrie picks up on the exchange and tells Dr. Ormerod that she thinks Sahar is hiding something. Dr. Ormerod listens with concern and their fears seem founded when Vijay suggests that the x-ray indicates that Sahar was hit from behind, not above. Dr. Ormerod asks Sahar if her partner has ever hurt her, but she tells him that she doesn’t have a partner, her husband passed away. But when a man arrives on the ward claiming to be Sahar’s husband, Carrie wonders if her suspicions of domestic violence might have been correct.
Meanwhile, in another cubicle, Sarah Chatwin examines Andy Fisher, a man in his 50s with abdominal pain who has a hernia. As Sarah asks Mr. Woods to take a look, Isla overhears and recognises the name. Andy Fisher has been booked in for two operations and didn’t show up either time. Woods marches over to Andy and his wife Marion, making his disapproval known. Mr. Woods is furious that Andy has failed to show up in the past, but that aside he insists that it’s critical that he has the operation now.
As Mr. Woods and Isla prepare to operate on Andy, Pamela is busy making a personal call. Woods is clearly not impressed and he tells Pamela in no uncertain terms, ‘When we delay, people die.’ Pamela’s not the only one with her mind on other things, and Mr. Woods notices that Alana’s mood hasn’t lifted. Knowing that she’s thinking about the Alzheimer’s patient that died last week, Mr. Woods sets about re-building the doctor’s confidence.
In the waiting room, Marion complains that Andy always seems to be ill when things need to be done, they are supposed to be building their dream home. How will she feel when she discovers that putting off his operation to work on the house could potentially have fatal consequences for her husband?
At the end of the shift, Sarah and Alana enjoy a drink in the pub. Alana admits that Peter’s death last week made her think about his kids and grandkids, and it made her realise that she’d have no-one to leave behind. As Sarah asks if she’s still thinking of having a baby, Jenny comes over asking to join them, interrupting before Alana can talk through the idea. Could Alana really be considering having a child on her own?
01.33 - 20th Feb 2008
The morning gets off to a shocking start when a woman in her early 70s is admitted to Casualty with a bamboo stick protruding from beneath her ribs. Getting Meredith to the X-ray department is a delicate procedure and Mr. Woods is less than impressed when Vijay jokes that she must have been caning it!
As Meredith has an emergency operation, her poor neighbour, Jean, is incredibly distressed and, on the verge of a panic attack, she struggles to breathe. As Jean calms down, she admits to Carrie that she and Meredith had a stupid argument over whose garden was the best. They tried to sabotage one another’s efforts but it went too far when Meredith realised that Jean had chucked a tub of slugs on her side of the fence. Meredith got up on a bucket and shouted, but slipped and fell on the bamboo. Will Jean get the opportunity to apologise to her friend and tell her how much she means to her?
Meanwhile, Sarah is treating a young man, Ryan, who hasn’t been able to urinate since a drainpipe hit him between the legs. Ryan looks horrified when Sarah explains that they’ll need to fit a catheter.
Adam makes a sudden exit from the ward and Kieran assumes that he’s hiding from Bridezilla as Heather is still talking about the wedding. Adam pretends that Kieran is right, but when Ryan refuses to be treated on by a woman, Adam is called upon and much to his horror, Adam finds himself fitting a catheter for the guy who made his younger years hell – the school bully. Clearly still emotionally bruised, Adam tells Heather about the torture that Ryan put him through. Ryan however, hasn’t even recognised Adam from his school days, he just believes he has a familiar face but can’t place him. Heather soon gives Ryan a reminder and marches over to him, shouting about what he did to her fiancé. Adam is furious that Heather has embarrassed him, but as Ryan realises the damage he has caused, will the ghosts from Adam’s past finally be laid to rest?
Elsewhere, Alana, Isla and Pamela are looking at men on the internet, trawling a dating website for potential suitors. Alana gets herself a date, but Isla bursts out laughing as he says that Alana should look out for the man in the kagool!
01.34 - 21st Feb 2008
A 43 year old woman, Juliet, has been admitted to hospital with a high temperature and bleeding. It’s suspected that her condition is related to the termination that she had three days ago. Shortly later, James, Juliet’s fiancé arrives. She lies that she’s having problems with her appendix; he clearly doesn’t know that she’s had an abortion, or that she was pregnant. When James has gone, Juliet admits to Heather that she has two grown up children from her previous marriage, she doesn’t want to go through it again. She had the termination because she believed it would save her relationship with James. As Heather and Juliet talk, Juliet’s condition suddenly worsens and she loses more blood. She is rushed into theatre and Mr. Woods is forced to carry out an emergency hysterectomy. How will James react when he realises that his fiancée has dashed his hopes of having children?
Over in another cubicle, a 22 year gymnast is lying semi-conscious and Dr. Ormerod and Kieran are struggling to get a response from her. They find her purse containing her gym membership card, so they are able to identify her as Charlotte Winters. Charlotte’s boyfriend turns up and reveals that she has been taking detox herbs. Carrie gets them checked out, but they are completely harmless, leaving Dr. Ormerod puzzled as to the cause of Charlotte’s condition. Sarah suggests that perhaps Charlotte has been so into healthy living that she has been drinking too much water. Charlotte, who by now is more alert, admits she drinks six or seven litres a day and tests reveal that it’s caused water intoxication.
Elsewhere, Alana seems back to her cheery self, and Mr. Woods comments that she’s got over the hump of turning 40. Alana responds by telling him she had a date last night, saying that she just needs to find her equal. She later gives Isla and Pamela the details, but it seems her search for a man isn’t over yet.
Sarah asks Dr. Ormerod if he’d like to go to the cinema with him at the weekend. He says he’ll see if he can persuade his new childminder to look after the kids, but it’s obvious that he is unwilling to commit.
Pearl delicately mentions to Norman that he is living in the family home that his parents left to both him and Heather. Pearl suggests that perhaps Heather and Adam would like to live there after they are married, giving him food for thought.
01.35 - 22nd Feb 2008
David, a rugged looking man, has been dragged to hospital by his wife Susan. David insists that there is nothing wrong, but Susan is clearly worried about him, not only because he has a head wound, but he also seems to be collapsing for no apparent reason. Susan tells Dr. Ormerod that David’s dad died last year from Motor Neurone Disease and she thinks that David, although he won’t say, fears that he may be suffering from the same illness.
Dr. Ormerod and Susan return to David’s bed, only to find he’s gone missing. Kristaps finds him out in the car park, lying on the floor disorientated and in shock. David is finally forced to confess that he is scared of deteriorating in the same way that his father did. Vijay tells Ormerod that he noticed a mark under David’s arm. Dr. Ormerod investigates and finds that David has been bitten by a tick and has Lyme Disease. David’s symptoms are not related to his father after all, and, relieved, David and Susan promise to enjoy their future together.
Over in the examination room, Sarah is seeing to an 18 year old girl, Debbie, who has been suffering from a great deal of sickness. Debbie’s pushy mother, Sheila, is clearly concerned for her daughter, but her presence seems to be making Debbie even more distressed. Debbie works in a fast food van and Sheila is insistent that her daughter has caught food poisoning from the filthy place. Pearl notices Sheila giving Debbie a vitamin C supplement and, when the tests for food poisoning come back negative, Pearl suggests that Debbie has overdosed on vitamins. Sheila is outraged, insisting she’s been looking after her daughter, but Sarah firmly tells her that the extreme amounts of vitamins are the cause of Debbie’s problems. Sheila is left feeling very embarrassed. Debbie’s boss from work, Rick, has arrived and he and Debbie tell Sheila that they are engaged. Sheila is obviously not overjoyed, but she finally realises that it’s time to cut the apron strings.
As Heather witnesses Sheila being the pushy mother, she wishes her mum was still alive. She tells Pearl that all the wedding preparations are making her miss her more than ever.
Meanwhile, Norman has been thinking about Pearl’s suggestion that Heather and Adam need somewhere to live and he tells Kristaps that he’s going to have to sell the house. Norman is clearly unhappy about it, but will he go through with the plan in order to make his sister happy?
Elsewhere, Vijay invites Sarah out for a drink. She accepts, but will it make Dr. Ormerod jealous as she hopes?
01.36 - 25th Feb 2008
Jenny is nervous as the staff at THE ROYAL prepare for a special visitor, Ray Coombes, a local businessman whom she hopes will invest large sums of money into a new wing.
As Ray arrives with his glamorous Footballer’s Wife style girlfriend, Mandy, Jenny and the team welcome them with fixed false grins. Jenny shows them around the department and it soon becomes clear that Ray is in pain. Mandy expresses her concern and, before he knows it, Ray is lying on the operating table. Dr. Ormerod has diagnosed a weakened artery wall known as Abdominal Aneurysm and an emergency operation is vital. As Ray is about to go under the knife, he tells Woods that if he pulls through, they can have the new wing. The pressure is on as Woods prepares to save the life of a patient and the future of the hospital. Will Woods rise to the challenge?
Meanwhile, Catholic priest, Father Stephen is worried when Mrs Heaton, a patient in her 70s who’s just completed a course of chemotherapy, develops a chest infection. As he is the only person who has visited her, he’s worried that he has passed on the infection.
Heather attends to Roderick Haleford who is clutching his stomach. Adam notes that he’s the fourth person today who’s spiked a temperature and they worry that there is an infection on the ward. As they investigate further, they realise all the patients that are having these symptoms are Catholic. Jenny sees Father Stephen wiping the lips of a man with Holy Water, and she guesses that the Holy Water is contaminated. Poor Father Stephen is horrified when tests prove this to be the case, and he agrees to make the sign of the cross on people’s foreheads in future, rather than dabbing their lips.
Norman tells Kristaps that he has been losing sleep over Heather’s wedding. He’s certain that Heather must be planning on selling her share of the house that they inherited to pay for it. Norman eventually asks Heather and she insists that she had never even considered selling the house, but Adam pipes up that he thinks it’s a great idea…
At the end of a stressful day, Dr. Ormerod invites Jenny for a drink. Sarah is green with envy as she watches them leave together.
01.37 - 26th Feb 2008
Pearl asks Carrie to prepare a bed for a Rosie Wilson. Norman’s ears prick up and it’s obvious that he is shocked to hear the name. When Rosie comes in with her varicose veins, she quietly tells Norman that they need to talk, before introducing him to her husband Terry. When Terry disappears for a few minutes, Rosie warns Norman that her son, Jimmy, will be coming to visit later and that Norman mustn’t reveal that he is Jimmy’s father.
Norman tells Heather that he’s hurt that he can’t talk to his own son, but she reminds him that he left Rosie when she told him she was pregnant and that Norman has only seen Jimmy a couple of times and that was when he was still a baby; he’s 21 now.
Jimmy comes to the hospital to see his mum but nips to the vending machine in the corridor. He’s struggling to get his can out, so Norman goes over and whacks the side of the machine, freeing the can. Noticing that Jimmy has a plectrum around his neck, Norman asks if he’s a musician. Jimmy says yes and they have a bit of friendly banter about music before Norman gets back to work.
Later, as Norman wheels Rosie to Radiology, Jimmy tells his mum that that Norman is a musician as well. Horrified about what Norman may have said, Rosie’s breathing becomes laboured. She’s taken into intensive care as they realise that a blood clot in her artery could starve her lungs of the blood and that they need to operate immediately. Norman sits and waits with Jimmy who is clearly incredibly close to his mum. Noting what a good kid Jimmy is, Norman struggles not to reveal that he is his father. Will Rosie pull through and will Jimmy discover that Norman is more than just a hospital porter?
Over in the waiting room, a student called Mickey has been sitting playing on his games console. Dr. Ormerod calls his name and he is lead into the consulting room. Mickey has been waking three or four times in the night and he’s been feeling shaky recently and struggling to breathe. Dr. Ormerod arranges a CT scan, but everything seems to be normal.
As Dr. Ormerod and Sarah investigate further, they realise that he drinks a lot of water. They decide to try depriving him of water to see what happens and, sure enough, he becomes sick and dizzy. Sarah informs him that he has Diabetes Insipidus, which means he’s lacking the hormone that regulates the amount of urine produced each day. The deficiency was caused by a hit on the head during a football match. Mickey is relieved to hear that he’ll be right as rain with a simple hormone supplement.
Meanwhile, Adam tells Heather than he thinks she should take advantage of the fact she owns half of Norman’s house. She is stunned when he suggests that they move in with Norman while they save for somewhere of their own. Norman later invites Heather and Adam to move in, but will they accept?
01.38 - 27th Feb 2008
Adam comes in, soaking wet. He was jogging down the beach when he saw a man floating in the sea. Adam pulled him out, but he is in desperate need of medical attention. When the man eventually wakes up he’s unresponsive. Jenny discovers that a fisherman named Danny has been reported missing and when Adam asks the man if he is Danny he eventually concurs. Danny confesses that he tried to kill himself to escape his debts. He’d hoped to be dead by now.
Holly, Danny’s wife, arrives with their son, and Adam takes her aside to tell her that Danny attempted suicide due to financial debts, especially as his life insurance would secure his family’s future. Holly is horrified, as well as hurt that Danny chose not to speak to her. She briefly sees her husband, but then goes to walk out. Adam urges her not to leave, but can he stop her from leaving a man who was willing to go away from her forever without any explanation?
Elsewhere, a couple of newlyweds come into the hospital. Bethan has been suffering from chest pains and her husband Paul is unhappy with the diagnosis of indigestion given by their G.P. Sarah suggests that a chest x-ray would be sensible and, as Bethan goes through to the x-ray department, she tells Sarah that she’s worried that Paul will leave her for someone that isn’t always ill. Bethan’s mother, Maureen, turns ups, instantly putting her daughter down and trying to improve her looks with make-up. It’s no wonder Bethan has low self esteem. However, this soon becomes the least of their worries when Sarah reveals that the x-rays showed that there are changes to Bethan’s right lung and that a biopsy needs to be carried out. The results indicate that some kind of drugs have affected her lungs. Bethan admits that she took some tablets to help clear her skin before the wedding. Maureen read about them in a magazine and ordered them over the internet. Paul is furious with his mother-in-law, telling her he wants his wife to be well, not perfect.
Meanwhile, Gemma’s looking forward to a night on the pull and, thinking Heather’s hen night might be a good opportunity, she asks when it is. Heather admits that it will be a while, they’ve realised they can’t afford a wedding at the moment and have decided to put things on hold for a while. However, Norman threatens to change everything when he announces that he’s taken out a £20,000 loan to pay for the wedding. Will Adam and Heather accept his offer?
01.39 - 28th Feb 2008
A young mum, Alice Neale, rushes into casualty with her 4 year old daughter Abi, lifeless in her arms. As she enters the hospital Kristaps catches them up and tells her she needs to move her van as she’s parked in the ambulance bay. Alice pleads with Kristaps to move the camper van for her. As Kristaps heads off, Kieran takes Alice through to A&E, much to the annoyance of Bernadette O’Grady who has been waiting with her teenage daughter, Siobhan, for some time.
Sarah examines Abi and identifies that she hasn’t ingested anything corrosive. However, she is concerned about the chest pains that Abi has been having and orders a number of tests to get to the bottom of Abi’s illness.
Adam sees Norman and lets him know that he and Heather have decided not to accept the loan cheque. Norman puts his foot down and tells Adam he’s paying for the wedding. Will the couple accept Norman’s offer?
Over in casualty, Dr. Ormerod examines Siobhan as her mother, Bernadette, waits with Kieran and Carrie. Siobhan explains she twisted her ankle in a fall whilst performing an Irish dance, and much to everyone’s surprise, Kieran admits that his mother made him learn Irish dancing before he started to play football. Concerned about Siohban’s knee, Dr. Ormerod sends her down to radiology for a scan.
Examining Siobhan’s x-rays, Vijay admits she may struggle to make the qualifying competition for the world championship in six weeks time. Not happy with Vijay’s diagnosis, Bernedette demands a consultation with Dr. Ormerod and Mr. Woods. Will they be able to provide the answers or is there more to Siobhan’s injury than she is admitting?
Sarah catches up with Dr. Ormerod and tells him that Abi Neale has been admitted. It transpires that Abi was taken into hospital last year after swallowing one of her mum’s tranquilisers. The previous visit resulted in the involvement of social services. Is Abi at risk from her mother?
01.40 - 29th Feb 2008 After finding out Kristaps was homeless and offering him a place to live, Norman and Kristaps arrive at the hospital together. Norman reassures Kristaps that he can stay with him for as long as he likes. As they make their way to the entrance, Jenny stops them, giving them a job to do. Jenny dumps a box of leaflets on the desk and informs Norman and Kristaps that the Hospital Trust is launching a sexual health campaign and she wants the pair of them to put up posters around the hospital. Meanwhile, Councillor Clive Forrest escorts his hobbling 15 year old daughter, Anna, to the hospital’s walk in clinic. Arguing on the phone to a journalist about his stance against immorality, breaking off mid-sentence, Clive tells Anna to go on without him. Much to her annoyance Anna heads off to the clinic alone. As Clive finally enters the waiting room he embarrasses Anna as he moans about the waiting time with a couple also waiting. The couple, Roger and Daisy Collins are saved from any further discussion when Dr. Ormerod calls Daisy into the consulting room. Clive turns his attention to the poster Norman and Kristaps have just put up referring to safe sex. He asks that they take it down as he believes it portrays sex as a casual pastime rather than the precious gift from God to husband and wife, which he believes it is. Will Norman and Kristaps comply with Clive’s request? After consultation, Dr. Ormerod reveals to Daisy that she has classic symptoms of Pyelonephritis, a serious kidney infection. Reluctant to be admitted into hospital, Daisy asks if her treatment can wait, but Dr. Ormerod assures her it can’t. Once on the ward, Dr. Sarah Chatwin begins running the tests on Daisy. Before they begin treatment, Sarah makes sure that Daisy isn’t pregnant. Daisy assures Sarah that there isn’t a chance of the couple having children due to an illness she previously had. The couple are obviously upset by the fact they never had children, so Sarah leaves the matter alone, but lets Daisy know they will run the test to be on the safe side. Will Daisy be able to start her treatment or will the test results reveal something else? Continuing to put up the posters, Norman arrives on Middleditch Ward and seeing Heather and Adam he presents them with a twenty thousand pound cheque to help towards the wedding. Adam is slightly more enthusiastic than Heather about accepting the cheque. Norman reassures them that they don’t have to spend it all but that it will help for them to know the money is there if they need it. Will Heather get the big wedding she dreams of? Meanwhile, having admitted Daisy onto the ward, Dr. Ormerod’s next patient is Anna Forrest. Not wanting her father to come into the consulting room, Anna sees Dr. Ormerod alone. Dr. Ormerod suspects that Anna’s GP’s initial assessment is correct. Anna may have arthritis in her ankles, though her young age is a concern to Ormerod. Asking Anna if her father would know if arthritis is in the family, he hits a brick wall as Anna is reluctant to talk to her father. Anna admits that she doesn’t get on with her dad and thinks he wants her to follow in his footsteps as a moral crusader. When Dr. Ormerod speaks to Clive, it is clear Clive believes his daughter’s condition is due to having unprotected sex, and before Ormerod can tell him otherwise Clive storms off in anger. Can Ormerod help Anna see that her father only wants the best for her in order to get to the bottom of her illness? After initial treatment, Anna prepares to leave the hospital when Clive suddenly collapses to the floor. As Norman and Kristaps rush Clive into casualty, Anna watches worriedly with Dr. Ormerod. Will Anna be able to make up with her father before it’s too late?