S13 E20 (16 Jan 99) : White Lies, White Wedding by Jeff Povey
Episode Summary
Julie Day, the anaesthetist who was injured in the car crash with Mark in the first episode of the series, is back at work.
Sean shows everyone a letter from the trust, which was sent to him by mistake. It reveals that Eve has married Marius.
Amy comes in with Milo to see everyone. She asks Sunny to be his godfather – he’s overjoyed. Sean and Josh both jokingly say that Milo has no neck.
Penny asks Josh about him getting help for his gambling problem. Josh says he doesn’t need it. A man who has been mugged is in A&E and wants to leave to put on a bet. He walks out in the road in front of the ambulance; Josh stops in time but the man slips and falls in front of it. They take him back in. Josh later calls Gamblers Anonymous.
Barry Mailer wakes up in a boat, after his stag night. He stands up and tries to pull himself in with the rope, but overbalances and falls in the water. His brother Alex arrives and pulls him out but he is unconscious. Josh and Penny arrive and take him to A&E. Barry was due to be married today; his parents phone Alex on his mobile to find out where he is. They call Barbara, Barry’s fiancée, who is pregnant, and they all go to the hospital. The staff cannot tell them whether Barry will live or die. Barry’s father blames Alex and keeps insulting him.Alex tells Barbara he thinks she doesn’t love Alex, but wants to marry him just so her baby has a father. Barbara denies this but does not say she loves him. Alex tells Sean that Barry was unsure whether Barbara loved him; he asked Alex and Alex told him she didn’t; Barry slept with another woman. Alex thinks Barry and Barbara shouldn’t be together. Sean realises that Alex is in love with Barbara and tells him to tell her before it’s too late. Alex tries to tell her but she interrupts before he’s said anything. Barry improves and Barbara goes in to see him. She tells him she loves him and Alex realises it is too late. He comes out to his family and says they should go home as Barry is going to be fine. He says Barry’s got Barbara; she’s all he really needs.
Sam and Adam are in the canteen when Molly, one of the dinner ladies, collapses. They take her down to A&E. Chloe is really upset when she finds out. Mollie is taken for a CT scan, as she had a stroke; Max looks at the results and decides there is no treatment they can give her; they can only try to find her a bed and let her die. There are no beds available and she has to stay in a cubicle. Chloe stays with her. Sam tells Adam that Molly took Chloe under her wing after her mum died. Chloe talks to her about Sean. Molly dies.
Max goes to a board meeting and has a clash with James Roberts. Max thinks they should reduce the number of elective surgery beds kept open so there are more beds for A&E patients; Roberts wants to reduce waiting lists by keeping the beds open. After the meeting the chairman asks for a word with Max. He says he has heard about Max’s MI screening research paper and asks him to submit an abstract at a medical conference in six weeks. Max says he would be lucky to finish it in ten weeks working flat out even if he had an assistant. The chairman tells him if he can establish the screening process it would reduce hospital admissions and free up some beds. He says that if he does it he’ll fight with Max for a new registrar.Adam is trying to find three beds but is told there are none available. He later goes upstairs and finds seven empty beds which are being held for elective surgery. Max confronts Roberts. He says when Molly’s niece arrives he’ll bring her to Roberts and let him explain why Molly had to die in a cubicle rather than in a bed somewhere.Sean and Chloe are awkward around each other. They eventually talk and agree that it was a mistake and they shouldn’t let it happen again. Chloe doesn’t look like she means it.
Two students, Grant Flock and Robyn Nightingale, slept together last night. Grant assumes it will carry on but she tells him her idea of a long-term relationship is eight hours. A professor picks them up to take them to the zoo for some work. He is talking to them from a viewing tower while they are measuring the land below. They are arguing and not listening to him. They go up to the tower, where they continue to argue. Grant calls Robyn a tart and a dog, and they start fighting. The professor tries to stop them; Robyn pushes him away and he falls off the tower. They call an ambulance. Josh and Penny arrive and take him in. Robyn mentions that he has a son who works at the hospital. Julie is about to do something when she is called away and Max carries on. He punctures the professor’s lung. The professor also has renal problems. He is seriously ill but no next of kin has arrived – they called his wife but she was out. He is taken up to theatre. As he is about to go into the lift Adam sees him and calls out, “Dad!” He asks what’s wrong and tells Duffy to give him the medicals. Sam takes him to the staff room. There is no word from theatre. Later Adam goes to the relatives’ room just after Barry’s family have left. He tells Sam he was wondering what it was like to be on the receiving end. “How did they cope?”
Patients
– Barry Mailer – Nearly drowns after falling into some water.
– Molly – suffers from a stroke and dies.
– Mr Osman – Falls from a bridge.
First Scene/words
[A man is asleep in a boat with balloons tied to it. Painted on the side of the boat is ‘Danger – condemned man aboard.’ The man wakes up, and panicking, falls into the water.]
Last Scene/words
[Sam and Adam are talking]
Sam: You okay?
Adam: Yeah. Just wondering what it felt like. being on the recieving end. How did they cope?
Notable Facts
* Susan Cookson plays Julie Day.
UK Viewing Figures
11.84m
