5 Star’s gripping documentary series A+E After Dark returns for its seventh series at a time when new figures reveal a stark and troubling reality for frontline NHS workers
Gripping documentary series A+E After Dark returns for its seventh series on Thursday night on 5 Star.
The new season is filmed inside the A+E departments of Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, Newham Hospital in East London, and Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast.
The show offers unprecedented access to the night shifts where staff pressure, violent attacks and life-or-death decisions collide.
The first episode shows shocking racist abuse towards an A+E nurse in Newham, attempts to save a stabbing victim and their attacker in Norwich and two injured young men involved in a 70mph collision during wet weather in Belfast
A synopsis for episode one reads: “At Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, doctors race to save both victim and attacker after a shocking stabbing brings two critically injured men into A+E at the same time.
“In Belfast, a high-speed crash during extreme weather leaves multiple patients at risk of spinal injuries, while an elderly woman undergoes a painful procedure for a broken femur.
“Meanwhile in Newham, security intervene when a patient refuses to stop live streaming inside the department, and in Norwich, a team fights to restart a patient’s heart during a sudden cardiac arrest.”
In a chilling first look clip at the collision in Belfast, it sees four young men rushed into the department after a high impact car crash at 70mph.
It then sees Doctor Michael examining one of the front passengers, David, who is in serious pain. Speaking in a VT, Doctor Michael explains: “Obviously, the faster the car is going, the more severe injuries you will get.”
Looking over David, Doctor Michael says the patient will be sent for X-rays on his face, neck, lower back and knees to check there are no fractures or breaks.
It comes as NHS England sadly reports a three-year high in violence against staff. Almost 1 in 7 NHS workers (14.47%) were physically attacked by patients or the public last year, with a record number of staff subjected to unwanted sexual behaviour, rising sharply to nearly 1 in 3 ambulance workers (31%), while 9% reported experiencing discrimination – the highest level ever recorded, according to new data from NHS England.
A+E After Dark captures the relentless reality of night-time emergency care across the UK. The new series follows dedicated teams in Belfast, Newham and Norwich as they battle exhaustion, overcrowding and escalating violence to save lives.
**A+E After Dark airs on 5 Star at 9pm on Thursday 2 April and is available to stream on My5. You can follow the series on **Facebook** and **Instagram** and **TikTok.
