Episode 1

Following surgeons as they save and change lives in Wales’s largest hospital in Cardiff, University Hospital of Wales. Here, world-leading clinicians and their teams perform incredible operations every day. But they’re doing so against the backdrop of the longest waiting times in history. This is a look at how surgeons make the difficult decisions of who gets treated next.

In the neurosurgery department, almost 200 people are waiting for complex, life-saving surgery. Consultant George Eralil prioritises 19-year-old Chelsea, who has an extremely rare brain tumour. Her operation has been cancelled once already, and with news that the tumour is growing, it must be removed now.

In the vascular department, which treats life- and limb-threatening conditions caused by diseased blood vessels, vascular surgeon Lewis Meecham arrives early on a Monday morning, ready for a full day of planned operations. But emergencies have flooded in over the weekend, forcing the team to cancel all but one of his elective surgeries.