Queens Medical Centre (Credit: NUH NHS Trust)

As the last season of 24 Hours in A&E at Queen’s Medical Centre comes to an end, a Nottinghamshire man reflects on seeing himself on TV with his head “cracked open”, in what he calls a surreal situation. 

The national sensation, 24 hours in A&E, came to Queen’s Medical Centre Emergency Department in late 2021 filming over 50 episodes over a total of five seasons. 

“They need to make themselves look good so there was more emphasis on that.”

THEO DELAHUNTY

The hospital where crews filmed for a total of 46 days straight, was picked for being one of the busiest trauma departments in the country, with NHS England stating 220,000 patients go through the doors every year. 

In its tenure, a total of 2,000 patients consented to be filmed, including 21-year-old Theodore Delahunty from Tilsworth. 

Theo Delahunty, 21, who appeared on Channel 4’s 24 Hours in A&E

Talking about his experience of the show he said: “I felt like the care was really good, and to be honest, that might have been because they were filming. 

“They need to make themselves look good so there was more emphasis on that.” 

Inside the hospital there were over 100 staff, working in shifts over 24 hours, but Theo says it wasn’t noticeable for the staff or patients. 

“I trust them.”

THEO DELAHUNTY

“It was a very small team filming from what I could see, they used fixed cameras that nobody had to really be present to man,” he said. 

“It was quite exciting really, to be constantly filmed, but it did start to make me feel uncomfortable at times. 

“I think I was lucky it wasn’t a very busy night, I was seen quickly, but I don’t think the cameras were the reason for that.” 

Despite being called 24 hours in A&E, Metro reported in 2023 that 400,000 patients waited longer than this to be seen in emergency departments across the UK. 

However, Theo still believes the show is still making a positive difference to the NHS. 

“I think it’s positive for the NHS, we all know it’s underfunded, but I think that having it on TV and people seeing that, might change their voting which I think is definitely a good thing,” he said. 

“There needs to be more funding for the NHS and that can be brought through visually making people aware of the struggles that they’re going through.” 

QMC Emergency Department sign (Credit: NUH NHS Trust)

The show is set to move to back to London to St. George Hospital for the filming of its next series, after four successful years highlighting the care team in Nottingham.  

Weighing in on whether the care would look differently in Nottingham after the show leaves, Theo said: “At the end of the day, they’re all healthcare professionals, and they have a duty of care. 

“I trust them.” 

Manjeet Shemar, Medical Director at NUH, said: “We are so proud to have been the home to 24 hours in A&E for so long, bringing the show into the heart of our Nottingham community and sharing the incredible stories of our staff and patients.
“The series gives the public the chance to see what it is like working in a busy emergency department like QMC, the complexities of it and the kind of things that staff see and work on day in and day out. It really is quite remarkable. I am so thankful that the series came to QMC, and even more so to those colleagues who were involved.
“We’re excited for our colleagues over at St George’s to have the series return to them, and hope that the series will make a return to QMC one day in the future too.”

24 Hours in A&E has been shortlisted for the TV Choice Awards for the second time, as well as for being the best factual series in the Royal Television Society Northwest Awards, highlighting the shows impact on improving public confidence in the NHS.

During the filming on 24 Hours in A&E at NUH, a total of:

  • 1,000 staff consented to be filmed
  • Nine weeks were taken to edit each episode
  • QMC Emergency Department was filmed for 46 days straight