The six-part documentary series is embedded within the Bristol NHS Foundation Trust’s (BFT) Southmead Emergency Department (ED) and the wider Hospital. The series illustrates the intensity, challenges and outcomes of working in a Major Trauma Centre, exploring the highs and lows of acute patient care.
It follows staff as they look after patients from their arrival in the ED, through diagnosis and their treatment, encountering everything from car crash amputations, stabbings and third-degree burns.
As well as the multi-discipline trauma team, senior consultants, surgeons and nursing staff, the series explores the role and contribution of the wider hospital team around them, each colleague with their own specific part to play to ensure the best possible outcomes for patients.
The documentary sees Expectation expanding its ‘24/7’ brand following the huge success of its previous series Murder 24/7 which was BBC Two’s joint highest rating series during 2025, reaching an audience of 3.2 million viewers.
Anna Bell, Matron for the Emergency Department at Southmead Hospital, said: “As an Emergency Department team, we feel incredibly lucky to have had the opportunity to shine a light on the delivery of emergency care within our NHS. We feel the documentary has genuinely understood and captured the complexity of how care is delivered, and the quite extraordinary teamwork that takes place across our hospital every single day to save lives and care for people.
"What perhaps comes across most strongly is the dedication, compassion, and grace of our teams, who continue to deliver exceptional care in some of the most challenging circumstances and under immense pressure. It is an honour and a privilege to look after people when they are at their most vulnerable, often on what may be the worst day of their lives, and to be able to be there for them when they need us most.
"We are incredibly proud of our teams and grateful that the documentary has given people an opportunity to see not only the pressures of emergency care, but the humanity, skill and commitment behind it.”
Rachael Barnes, Executive Producer at Expectation TV, said: “Emergency 24/7 offers unprecedented insight into what it truly means to work at the coalface of the NHS today. With extraordinary access and the trust of frontline ED staff, the series places viewers right inside the pressure of the emergency department, witnessing life-saving decisions and calculations in real time.”
Chief Executive of Bristol NHS Foundation Trust, Maria Kane, said: "I take great pride in seeing the exceptional care and commitment of our colleagues on-screen.
"Despite the high-pressured nature of working in a Major Trauma Centre, clinical and non-clinical staff demonstrate how they go above and beyond every day to save lives and make a difference."
You can watch Emergency 24/7 on BBC Two on Tuesday 18 August at 9pm and on BBC iPlayer.
Image credit: BBC