Posted: Fri 11th Jan 2019

Children’s Ward at Wrexham Maelor Hospital back on TV for second series

Wrexham.com for people living in or visiting the Wrexham area
This article is old - Published: Friday, Jan 11th, 2019

A new fly on the wall documentary offering an inside look at the journeys of children being treated in Wrexham Maelor Hospital is back on TV next week.

The four part series about the Children’s Ward will return for its second run on BBC Wales on Monday 14th January.

With a catchment area of over half a million people, Wrexham is not just home to Wales’ second largest hospital, it’s also one of the busiest and its children’s ward is no different.

Each day, more than 50 children come through its doors and the second series documents the journeys of the ward’s patients and their families, as well as the dedicated staff who treat them.

In 2017 the Wrexham Maelor gave unprecedented 24-hour access for Children’s Ward back and this time, cameras have been given access to the hospital’s assessment unit an A&E to follow an array of stories throughout the series.

The cameras began rolling in February 2018 and had an all access look at life on the ward including, for the first time, emergency admissions.

Ward manager Rebecca Morris said: “The team were so excited to take part in the show again and it’s really great to be able to showcase all the hard work that happens on the ward. We are passionate about what we do on this ward, it’s a demanding job but working here is such a rewarding job too.

“It was great to also work with the Emergency Department for this season because we work together on a day to day basis.”

The first episode sees 20-day-old Megan being rushed to hospital by ambulance after her dad makes a 999 callevery parent dreads. when she suddenly stops breathing.

It’s peak viral season and among the many young patients on the busy ward is two-year-old Caitlin. She’s been in and out of the ward for nine months and, despite multiple tests and eight emergency admissions, the doctors are still seeking the answers her parents so desperately want.

Toddler Thomas meanwhile is being tested for suspected pneumonia and will need a clear ultra sound and his temperature to return to normal before he’s allowed to go home.

Paediatric and Neonatal service manager, Martin McSpadden said: “We are so pleased to see Children’s Ward back for a new series. It is a real privilege to be able to share the work we do and the journey our staff go on with our patients.

“As ever, I’m grateful to the staff, patients and their families for being so open about sharing their stories and I think it’s important because watching it makes people realise there are often other families out there going through something similar.”

Sioned Morys, producer at programme maker Chwarel said, “It’s fantastic to be back in Wrexham Maelor for series two and great to be able to have access to the Emergency Department so we could capture the patient’s story from the moment they arrived at the hospital.

“The staff on the ward and people of Wrexham have been so welcoming and really open to filming which means we were able to create a great programme which really does reflect the reality of life on Wrexham Maelor’s Children’s Ward.”

Children’s Ward is a four-part, weekly series starting on Monday January 14th on BBC1 Wales at 8.30pm.



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