St George's Hospital '24 Hours in A&E' wins TV Award

St George's Hospital popular Channel 4 program '24 Hours in A&E' has won the 'Best Brand-Driven Format Award at the annual International Format Awards.

The program was granted an award for its collaboration with the British Heart Foundation in their 'Heart Special'.

The Heart Special, funded by the British Heart Foundation, provided an opportunity to raise awareness and increase support to their research to save and improve lives.

The programme aired in the first week of the UK's first lockdown in March 2020 with two million people tuning in live.

It led to 62% more text donations in one night than the British Heart Foundation typically receives in one month of TV fundraising activity.

More than seven million people are living with heart and circulatory diseases in the UK, every hour 19 people in the UK die from heart and circulatory disease.

The episode revisited three patient stories who previously appeared in the series when admitted to our emergency department with serious heart conditions.

Corey had a cardiac arrest aged 24 years old and was placed in an induced coma for four days before being diagnosed with Brugada Syndrome.

Angie had a very fast heart rate and had previously been diagnosed with a faulty LMNA gene causing cardiomyopathy.

Steve's heart rate doubled within an hour before being diagnosed with a tumour close to his heart which was later removed.

Spencer Kelly, Executive Producer at the Garden Productions, accepted the award earlier this week and said:

"As COVID continues to dominate our lives, this film focused on another public health concern – heart disease and the work of St George's hospital and the British Heart Foundation charity in trying to combat a disease that still accounts for 1 in 4 deaths in the UK.

"We are continually grateful to the staff at St George's and the NHS as a whole for their tireless and selfless dedication. Even more so during the last year. And also the patients who let us into the most devastating and sensitive moments of their lives – reminding us all that the best medicine is often compassion, understanding and love."

Channel 4 Documentaries commissioning editor Rita Daniels said:

"In this poignant episode of 24 hours in A&E we revisit stories of those who have been treated at St George's and see where they are now, which demonstrates the incredible work the staff do there every day. It's a stark reminder that heart conditions don't discriminate, and we hope this episode raises awareness."

You can watch the Heart Special on All 4.