Eccentric uncle Dr Julian Humphrey works alongside Sister Benita and a team of almost 30 medical staff to treat 200-plus emergency patients, from a miner suffering from a suspected heart attack, and a worried 98-year-old who needs a CT scan, to a two-year-old struggling to breath.

Patient numbers are through the roof, and the team are facing one of the busiest days in the A&E's history. Keeping the team going through this incredibly pressured shift is the self-named Emergency Clown Sister Jane, who takes the younger nurses under her wing and boosts morale with a dose of laughter.

Staffing problems hit the department as several nurses call in sick. The remaining team are forced to juggle extra patients to make sure every emergency is dealt with. The pressure takes its toll on Sister Benita, and she is herself admitted to a bay for treatment.

Severe weather conditions place the casualty department under even more pressure than usual. Dr Julian and his sidekick Sister Benita treat a pensioner with a broken ankle and a former miner with a chronic lung condition. Meanwhile, Dr Jane treats four-year-old Teddy after a sledging accident.