The work of leading Leeds doctors and surgeons will be showcased in a brand new BBC documentary tonight.
Saving Lives in Leeds will make its debut this evening, as part of an eight-part docuseries, and explores the difficult decisions clinicians have to make every day and the real impact this has on the lives of patients and their families.
Camera crews partnered with Leeds Hospitals NHS Trust and spoke to patients about their emotional stories as they undergo life-changing operations. Watchers can expect to see a brain tumour removal as well as heart surgery on babies.
Emma Loach, Commissioning Editor, BBC Documentaries said: "Saving Lives In Leeds will bring us closer than ever before to the clinicians facing difficult dilemmas on a daily basis and show us what they need to overcome before tackling the day job of changing people’s lives."
Professor Phil Wood, Chief Executive of Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust said: "Saving Lives in Leeds really shines a light on the outstanding people working at Leeds Teaching Hospitals carrying out remarkable and world-leading surgery. It highlights some of the challenging decisions they make on a day-to-day basis as they work to ensure our patients get the best possible care.
"It’s been a really positive opportunity for us to explain the complexity behind some of the decisions we take when managing waiting lists and highlight that we always have our patients’ best interest at the heart of everything we do."
Here's everything you need to know about the show
When and where can I watch Saving Lives in Leeds?
The new show will air on BBC Two tonight. Episode one will air at 9pm. Viewers can also catch up via BBC iPlayer.
The first episode is set to feature life-changing operations and difficult dilemmas. Lifting the lid on the heart-rending, hard-headed decisions doctors must make before tackling the day job of changing people’s lives.
Where was the show filmed?
Camera crews went into Leeds General Infirmary in Great George Street, and St James's University Hospital in Beckett Street, Harehills. Leeds residents may spot many areas featured in the show.
What can viewers expect?
Leeds General Infirmary is the only hospital in the UK to specialise in Hand Transplantation, in a unique unit led by Professor Simon Kay, a pioneer in hand surgery running the busiest Hand Transplant service in the world. In the first time an operation of its kind has been filmed in the UK, Professor Kay prepares a team of around 40 surgical staff across two theatres to carry out a complex and high-risk double hand and forearm transplant.
His patient is Jamie, a single parent to 5-year-old twin daughters who lost all his limbs after being electrocuted at work. Jamie has waited for more than two years for a donor in the hope of receiving the operation with results he and his daughters have wished for.
In neurosurgery, consultant Kenan Deniz has two patients needing life-saving surgery on his theatre list. Patient Karen discovered she had a brain tumour after a car accident, which could be cancerous and urgently needs removing, whilst second patient Jean has a swelling aneurysm deep in her brain which could soon burst and prove fatal. Kenan only has one post operative bed confirmed, so which patient does he take to theatre first?
Should he operate on Karen’s suspicious brain tumour and risk not having a bed for Jean, whose aneurysm could burst at any time? Or delay Karen’s operation and operate on Jean instead?
In Leeds Children’s Hospital, Orthopaedic Consultant Adelle Fishlock has two children on her theatre list that have cerebral palsy and need surgery to fix their dislocated hips. Following months of waiting and cancellations, both patients are in need of beds on the same day but one family may need to be sent home, leaving Adelle facing difficult decisions.
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