Catherine, hurry up and eat your breakfast. I've got a new job.
I start work today. I can't be late.
Why are you using that knife for butter?
It's the only one that was clean.
- I'll see you later. - Bye, Mum.
Mwah! Have a good day at school.
- Bye, Mum. - Hey!
What about me? I start today.
Good luck.
There you go.
Dad, just leave us here. The other parents don't come in.
Come on.
Love you.
- Yeah. Bye. - Bye.
Hello, Catherine.
Bye. Have a good day.
See you.
Dave. Sorry I'm late, mate.
It's all right. There's a uniform in there.
- Then I'll show you what to do. - Great. OK.
Morning.
- Hello. - Hi.
I'm Dan.
My son died a few weeks ago. You probably don't even...
You're... You're working here?
First day.
Well... er... I'd better get on.
Yeah.
I mean, he's not actually harassing you, is he?
Threatened you, put a dead animal in your car, anything like that?
Morning.
Maybe he saw it advertised when he was here.
Like there are no other jobs?
You see, he's working right at the front door.
So every morning he'll... be there.
It's freaking you out.
- It's not freaking me out, it's... - Upsetting you.
No, it's bothering me.
Look, no offence, but maybe he's not the one with the problem.
Men get more stressed as they age.
You're not as young as you used to be.
Red eyes, wrinkles, this hangdog expression...
You're a middleaged workaholic, mate.
Keep going as you are, you'll have a stroke and end up there.
And you don't want that.
Cos if that happens, you know who'll be in charge of saving your life?
Scary, right?
Why don't you go on a retreat?
Apparently, there's one you can do where you don't say anything for a week.
- Try that. - Wouldn't mind booking you on to it.
All right, everyone. Welcome to M&M.
There you go. Here.
- Charlotte, do you want to start? - Erm... Yeah.
A ruptured appendix in a 32yearold male, William Rowe.
We attempted removal laparoscopically but there was a delay of approximately 14 hours
between the rupture and arrival with us which made success unlikely.
Next.
Male, 15,
admitted with a stab wound to the upper left abdomen going into the chest.
Name?
Sorry. Er... Alex Bowker.
He suddenly deteriorated after his CT scan.
The damage was more severe than first thought.
Despite aggressive resuscitation and... all our best efforts...
er... he died... at 12:54.
There's a note here about his father.
- I'm sorry? - His father got into the room during surgery.
Yes.
And how that happened I... I don't know. You'll have to talk to the nursing staff.
But any impact on the procedure?
When the father interrupted?
Jon?
No. No impact.
The father was only there for a second.
The key was the degree of damage to the heart.
At first the patient was compensating because...
He was compensating because the blood loss was being controlled
by the pericardium to some degree.
But then he tamponaded. We had to open the chest.
It was only then that we could see how big the hole was
and the degree of blood loss that we were trying to cope with.
Any comments on practice, procedure?
Any other irregularities?
No.
All right. Thank you. Moving on. Next.
So the accusation is drinking leading to malpractice?
Yeah.
All right. Just one question.
You mention the Mortality and Morbidity meeting this morning that Mr Allerton was at.
Well, these are closed sessions normally, just for staff.
- Hospital staff? - Medical staff.
Well, I heard it was happening, and that they were discussing my son,
so I didn't think it'd be a problem.
That's fine. Just it's a question that will come up.
What happens now?
Given that it concerns a senior member of staff,
it will be overseen by someone at a similar or higher level.
- They'll investigate it, and come back to you. - How long will that take?
Probably a few weeks.
But, Mr Bowker, thank you for coming to see us.
I can tell even from your initial account that you've had a terrible experience
and you have some important questions you'd like answers to.
Right.
You'd never met Mr Allerton socially?
- No. - Right.
Why?
I just wondered if that might be the reason he attended the funeral.
It's because he felt guilty. He knows what he did.
Well...
And it'll be done properly? Independent. You won't just cover it up?
No.
You can imagine in a hospital, listening to our
patients and their relatives is of vital importance.
- For future practice, apart from anything else. - Right.
Right, thanks.
Because he really is lying.
Look, this complaint...
because of the severity of what he's saying, and your seniority, they've called me in.
Asked me to take it on.
What does he say?
He claims that you told him you'd been drinking that night but you still came in.
Drinking? No.
I can see how it happens.
You're called in unexpectedly. You've had a glass of wine or whatever.
But you make the call, decide to come in, because you know you're needed.
I honestly hadn't.
Matt, he's obsessed with me and what happened that night.
He got a job here just to put pressure on me.
He's started working in the cafe at reception.
- He... - He's after me.
And it's a huge distraction when I have to concentrate. You understand.
You know he was in the M&M meeting this morning?
- He was what? - He found a way in to watch at the back.
He claims you lied in there as well.
He has lost his son and wants someone to blame.
Sure.
As there's been a complaint, I'll need to interview you formally.
You've not done many of these, have you?
- No. - It'll be ten minutes.
Once we're done, I'll check with some of the others, as we have to.
Then we'll get a letter out as quickly as we can.
The sooner this is done the better, yes?
I'm... erm... I'm not sure he'll accept it.
Let's see, shall we?
All right?
- I'll just run through some questions. - Yeah.
Hey.
- Feeling better? - Yeah.
Thanks for covering for me.
No worries.
I didn't answer it. Like you said.
Good evening. I'm sorry to disturb you.
- Dan's at work. - I know.
I was hoping to catch you, actually.
Come in.
Do you want a biscuit or something?
I'm fine. Thanks.
I assume you know where your husband's working.
Yeah.
I'm pleased he got it.
What do you mean?
Just... I'm not sure it's good for him, given what's happened.
This morning he attended a private meeting
where we go over the mortality cases one by one.
- You were discussing Alex? - Yes.
And then after the meeting he made a formal complaint against me.
Right.
I worry that he's developing a resentment against me
and I wondered if you could speak to him.
Persuade him to find work elsewhere.
Well, he's not found getting work easy.
Right.
We've still got all of Alex's stuff.
Cereal bowl...
His best mug.
I know that you did your best.
Thank you.
Things aren't great with... me and Dan, so...
I just don't know how much he'll listen.
Well, whatever you can do.
You see, basically, at the moment I just get up...
I go to work, come home, cook, sort the house out, sleep.
The only bit of time I get for myself is in the shower.
Me and Dan...
We don't talk.
We don't... We don't do anything together.
You're not... supporting each other?
No. He's in his own world.
- Perhaps he should... - You know what I need right now?
Is just some time for me. An escape. Do you know what I mean?
If I had the money, I'd just get on a plane. Just go somewhere, just for a couple of days.
Just... sit on a beach.
Drink.
I don't know. Maybe... meet a man.
Whatever. Just...
get out of all of this.
Things will get better.
Bet you have great holidays.
Well, not for a while.
You don't want him to know you were here, do you?
- Why aren't you dressed? - I had a shower.
Got distracted.
I had to make the kids' tea so...
Was someone here?
New guy.
And I said did he want a cup of tea so he stayed for ten minutes.
A man?
Yeah, but we didn't have * so nothing to worry about.
Or maybe... maybe you wouldn't worry.
Do you want to try * each other at some point?
There you go.
I'll leave it there for you.
You're lying about it being a friend from work. You've never been very good at lying.
Yeah, well, I'm just trying to protect your feelings.
It was that doctor.
- He called round. - Here?
He said that he thought you were obsessed.
Couldn't understand why you were working there.
- He shouldn't be coming... - I agree with him. Why are you working there?
- Alex would still be alive if it wasn't for him! - I'm bored of you.
These things that you say.
Alex is dead.
Right. I'm going to make another complaint.
What now?
Intimidating you.
He didn't.
We had a chat. He's a nice guy.
He's clever.
He's fit.
Why are you being so cruel?
It's because it's really hard.
And I need you to do better.
- Hi, kids. - Hi.
How are you doing?
Alex was in a relationship with a girl, Jasmine Marks.
Her previous boyfriend was Dean Curran and it seems he was jealous.
He'd given Alex warnings in the past which Alex had brushed aside.
Then that evening Curran decided to take matters into his own hands.
As you know, he turned himself in...
confessed, and he's been charged with murder.
At the hearing he's pleaded guilty.
Why did he do it?
He's a 15yearold with issues at home.
He says he didn't intend to kill Alex.
Which is probably the case, but...
it provides little comfort to you.
Do you have any other questions?
All right.
How do I prosecute the doctor?
The doctor who operated on Alex.
He told me he'd been drinking earlier that evening.
He messed up. So if I tell you, will you investigate?
You would do better to make a complaint through the hospital.
He already has.
So you... you won't do anything then?
We'd refer to the hospital in the first instance and not pursue it, probably,
unless there was tangible evidence of foul play or criminal negligence.
That's what their reply said. They wouldn't pursue it.
Thank you. That's... that's all very clear.
Thank you.
They said it'd take weeks to reply to this complaint.
I got this after two days.
They know. They're scared of this.
You're going to be late for work.
Well, she's resting peacefully.
I'm going to leave her for two hours, and then come back and check on her, OK?
- Two hours? - Yeah, everything's fine. She's doing very well.
OK...
Daniel Bowker?
Come through.
My son died a month ago.
Cancer.
I am sorry.
I've been trying to find someone to blame.
That's understandable.
I don't sleep because I'm anxious and when I do sleep, I dream of Alex.
He needs me, he's in trouble, and I'm not there.
Yes.
I suppose what I'm really worried about is my family falling apart.
I mean, your family, it's the most important thing.
Isn't it?
Often, yes.
You have other children?
Catherine is nine and Mark, he's seven.
How are they coping?
Do you have kids?
Yes.
How do you think you're managing?
With what's happened?
Well, I think Alex would still be here today if he'd been lucky enough to have a better doctor.
I see.
I'm sorry. I've never spoken to anyone like this before.
It's quite... erm... intense, isn't it?
Do you want to take your coat off?
Yeah.
Do you want me to hang it for you?
Yeah. No! It's just... a shit coat, anyway.
I've had it ages.
All right.
My wife... thinks I'm mad to blame the doctor.
Well, obviously there is a possibility the doctor did make a mistake,
but... without knowing the details I'd say it's... it's very rare.
Especially in cancer care.
They've said nothing went wrong but they can't be sure about that, can they?
Consultants working in these areas treat patients
in life and death situations all the time.
They tend to be selfcritical, very conscientious,
and rigorous to uncover the truth if they think there's been a mistake.
You sound like one of them.
But if you have concerns, you are absolutely right to pursue them.
That is your duty as a father.
You shouldn't feel bad about that.
I just want it to be fair.
You know, if something went wrong, I should know.
Of course.
Any parent would feel the same.
You find it hard to accept what they're telling you?
You don't look like a psychiatrist.
What do you think a psychiatrist looks like?
Length of your skirt, your neckline.
It's all there to garner attention.
I'm sorry, but it makes me concerned that you might not be serious.
I can assure you, I am.
The anxiety, the depression.
You're displaying exactly the symptoms I would expect to see
from a man who has just lost a child.
This is your brain doing exactly what it should be doing.
I don't think so. I don't think my brain would be doing this
if the authorities had investigated my son's death properly.
As they would if it was the son of someone that they thought was more important.
Prime Minister's son or whatever. David Beckham, Rupert Murdoch.
If I was one of those people, it would be completely different. Wouldn't it?
Or even if I was on Twitter and had loads of followers or whatever.
Maybe that would make a difference, but I haven't got time for that.
So, I'm just...
Just me.
And the system moves on, leaves Alex behind.
One of the consequences of losing him is that I don't find my wife attractive any more.
I... I think I still love her, but she just reminds me of...
- I can tell you anything? - Of course.
I've found myself... becoming attracted to other women.
I think about other women a lot. Is that normal?
Normal isn't a particularly useful term.
I just want to know if there's something wrong with me.
You're responding to a terrible and shocking event.
It is going to have a profound effect on you.
Sorry... to say it like that...
but the truth is... is quite important to me at the moment.
Dan...
How much do your clothes cost?
- I can't... - Roughly.
- I really couldn't say. - What you're wearing right now
probably costs as much as my family spends on clothes in a whole year.
Dan, what have you got in your pocket?
* thing!
What?
I'm... I'm sorry. I just...
I just wanted to check the time.
Sorry.
Look, I'm... I'm...
Really... I am. I'm sorry.
Please.
Can we... Can we just carry on?
Yes.
Yes, OK.
So she's stable?
Well, she isn't in any pain.
It was quite a fall and at her age, it's quite a trauma.
- I'm asking if she'll be all right. - At this stage I can't say
- what the lasting effects will be. - Isn't that your job?
You have to trust me.
- Then answer my question! - We're giving her the best care.
- What are you doing? - I'm telling you about...
No, no. There! Your hand's tapping. You don't know you're doing it.
- That has nothing... - It's not what you want in a surgeon.
Can't control your hands. Is there someone else?
- I don't want you near her! - All right, all right. OK.
Whatever you want.
It's a bad decision, but up to you. Go ahead. Find someone else.
Hey!
I'm * talking to you!
All this training. Years of practice, millions of pounds' worth of equipment.
Why can't they trust us?
The people they love might die. They're scared.
OK. What I need is a bit of understanding, a little bit of sympathy.
Yes, so sorry, Jon. It must be awful for you.
You can leave if you're going to stand there...
When I started here two years ago and it was hard
and I was crying in the corridor, you didn't give me sympathy, you told me facts.
It helped.
I suppose... I should go and apologise.
No shit.
But calm down first.
Sorry.
No problem.
I thought you were going to smash up the room.
Still biking?
Not as much as I used to.
Lisa and I, we go up around Alexandra Palace, you know.
- And climbing? Still doing that? - Yeah. Yeah.
Surprised you're not hanggliding.
Lisa drew the line.
She doesn't want to lose you.
Yeah.
Do you want to sit down?
So Daniel Bowker resubmitted his complaint this morning,
saying that you visited his wife at home.
That you intimidated her.
Is that true?
I went to speak to her, yes.
It was a good conversation.
She invited me in. I did not intimidate her.
Why did you go?
I wanted to check on his wellbeing.
See why he'd got a job here.
And she said that yes, he was suffering hugely, and she felt that he was behaving erratically.
Right.
And now this. Mrs Fernandez.
Her son is quite angry at how he was treated.
- I'm going to apologise. - Good.
But, Jon, not a serious complaint in years and now two in a row.
What shall we do?
It seems it started with the death of that boy.
And the behaviour of his father.
- It's affecting you. - It would affect anyone.
Matt...
What we do here is difficult enough without someone...
watching you the whole time.
Trying to bring you down.
Well, whatever the reason, clearly it has to stop.
Agreed.
I don't want to lose you either.
So...
what can we do?
Dan, mate.
Can we have a word?
You know Lucy, don't you?
We met at the interview.
Yeah, I thought it might be a good moment, after a few days,
to check how we're getting on?
Well. Yeah. Erm... good, I think. No complaints so far.
Because there are a few issues from our end.
Erm... punctuality?
A few minutes late yesterday. And today.
Well, I have to drop the kids off.
The others who work here, they haven't got children so it's... it's easier for them.
- OK. - But that will get better.
Also, speed of work. Erm... there's concerns there.
Well, nothing's been said.
We wondered if you were really happy here.
Sorry, but what has me being happy got to do with it?
I'm fine. I do the work, that's all.
Well, maybe this is the misunderstanding.
Because we want our employees to take pride in their work,
to be positive in their contribution, so that's not all there is, really.
I'm not being funny but it's... it's making coffee and giving it to people.
I am polite. I get it all done.
And if you're talking about pride in my work,
then, yeah, it's important to me that I do the very best I can.
To... to deliver the service as I've been trained to do.
But please don't demean me by making me pretend that it's complicated.
Look, maybe we should call it a day. What do you think?
- From...? - From you working here.
We think that's best.
For you as well.
Has someone been talking to you? The hospital. Has one of the bosses said something?
- About what, you? - Yeah. About getting rid of me.
No. We have full control over who we hire.
So it's just a coincidence, is it? That I make a complaint...
I don't know anything about that.
I've got two kids. I can't be out of work.
Sorry.
Do you want me to stay until the end of the week?
We actually wondered if it might be better just...
So... holiday.
Your dad thought it was a really good idea if we booked something for later on in the year.
And I agree.
Once your exams are over.
So I have a shortlist.
Seychelles, Barbados, Florida.
I think we need some sun.
Well, actually, I was going to say, I might take a holiday in a couple of weeks.
Once school stops?
School is stopping so that you can revise.
Yeah, but I haven't had the time to see Kate properly in ages.
Thank you.
- Why don't you wait till the exams are finished? - You can't work all the time!
You understand. Mum said you were stressed.
- Did she? - That work was hard.
Well, it was. But it's better now.
- It's better? - Yeah. We've sorted out the problem, I think.
- It's done. - That's good.
Sweetheart, you only get one shot at these exams.
You only get one shot with a person too.
I'm sorry, but I'm doing it.
Ooh, that is not how we speak in this house.
Ultimatums.
We will discuss it.
Fine, we'll discuss it.
- OK. - And then I'm doing it.
Back to my question.
Seychelles, Barbados, Florida?
Barbados.
Obviously.
See, I knew you were going to say that!
That... is what I thought.
No way!
You said you were going out. I thought you were meeting a friend.
I bought you a dress.
Really?
Yeah.
Put it on.
Why?
- Are you feeling better? - Yeah. I'm just... I just...
Heels as well. Here you are. Come on.
You seem happier.
Yeah.
Was it expensive?
Lost my job.
Why?
Somebody mentioned the complaint.
- So now I'm a troublecauser so... - We can't afford for you to be out of work.
You know that. It's simple.
So you're pissed off with me now, are you?
Dan, I...
Yeah.
Yeah, yeah, I am.
Why can't you just deal with it like everyone else?
- Say it is shit, what happened and... - Because he's lying!
And nobody wants to do anything about it.
Alex would still be alive and he knows that!
I've had enough! You are breaking us.
You don't talk to the kids. You don't talk to me.
We don't have a relationship. And now you've lost your job.
You need to do something to sort it out in your head.
Or you're going to lose everything, do you understand?
Me, the house, and the kids.
I'm not going to sit here while you * us up!
So you do whatever you need to do to sort it out.
Sleep downstairs.
We work in highpressure environments and
your choices can save lives in the moment.
Yes, you can make a real difference.
Morning.
A short weekend with Kate before the exams.
Two days, OK?
Then we've all got Barbados to look forward to when you are done.
I know we had the conversation last night but I spoke to Kate this morning
and... we don't want to just do a weekend.
I'm going to do a gap year with her.
Put everything on hold and go travelling round the world.
- But last night... - No...
I know you don't like the idea of a gap year but it's what I want to do.
OK? Bye.
Bye. High five.
- See you, Dad. - Bye.
See you, Dad.
Yeah, I'm single. And after this, I am staying that way.
I said to him: It's your problem if you put a ten-year-old picture up on your profile,
'cos when I see you I'm just going to turn round and walk away.
Do you know what I mean?
- Do you know what I mean? - Yes.
Yeah, so I don't know if I'm going to do it any more.
It's a fool's errand.
We are so pleased at the progress you've made. You've exceeded our expectations.
Thank you. I'm... I'm sorry I didn't trust you.
I was worried.
Of course. No problem at all.
All the best.
- All good? - Transferring down now.
- Should be at home in a couple of days. - You seem so much better. What changed?
It's a beautiful day.
Hi.