S14 E5 (9 Oct 99) : Crossroads by Tony McHale
Episode Summary
Sunny, who is still suspended and awaiting a tribunal next week, is waiting for Tina when she finishes her shift. He tells Adam he’s been trying to phone Sam, who is staying with his ex-teacher Simon, but there’s no answer; Sam’s due back at work the next day so Sunny’s worried. Adam blames himself. Sunny persuades Tina to go with him to Cornwall to find Sam. As they are talking, Chloe goes into work and says something to Sunny; Tina calls her a tart and Chloe has a go at her, saying they have to find a way of living with it.
Duffy invites Chloe round to her place to talk about things; Chloe says she’s seeing a friend tonight.
On the coach, Tina is in a bad mood; Sunny tells her she has to just ignore Chloe. He talks about why Sam should come back, saying that anyone could be a porter but it takes something special to be a nurse.
Adam puts his application in an envelope on Charlie’s desk for him to vet. Charlie has been called to St. Thomas’s, but phones Duffy to tell her about some security proposals; Amy tells Duffy they’re on Charlie’s desk. She goes to his desk and opens the envelope with Adam’s application; Adam comes in and she tells him what she knows. She says she’s not against him returning to nursing but she doesn’t want the strength of the department jeopardised because they had one nurse who couldn’t work at full stretch. She says that if it got out that they had an HIV-positive nurse the patients wouldn’t like it. She tells him about the scare she had 10 years ago when she thought she’d contracted the disease: she says that she had decided then that if she was HIV positive she would give up nursing. She tells him it’s not about whether it’s right or wrong but about the reality of the situation.
Builder Ryan Wheeler, working in the department, is called by his wife on his mobile. She is angry because he’s been out late for the past few nights. Whilst he’s on the phone he manages to cut his finger right off; he is taken through and the finger is preserved so it can be sewn back on. Ryan’s wife arrives and when she goes in to see him starts yelling at him, asking why he’s been out so late recently; she grabs what’s left of his finger until he’s screaming; he gives in and shows her some holiday tickets, saying he’s been moonlighting to pay for it. She’s happy and hugs him.
Fifteen-year-old Carl Pearce is brought into A&E after overdosing on paracetamol. His mum refuses to believe it was anything but an accident. His father arrives; he says that Carl is upset because he couldn’t play at a concert; Carl says he’s upset because his father didn’t see him play. His father says he’s going to stop him playing the violin and turn him into a normal fifteen-year-old. Carl later walks away from the cubicle; Adam follows him. Carl goes up to the roof and stands on the edge, ready to jump. Adam talks to him; he tells him he had problems at school because he was Asian and gay. Carl eventually talks; he says that his dad isn’t interested in his playing and never comes to see him play. Yesterday, when he was about to see a concert, he shut Carl’s hand in the car door so he was unable to play; Carl thinks he did it on purpose. Adam says it sounds like his dad’s jealous, and says he should tell him how he feels. Carl goes back down to A&E with Adam and talks to his dad. Carl’s mum later thanks Adam, and Duffy hears.
Tina and Sunny eventually find Sam, who isn’t too pleased to see them. He doesn’t want to go back, and gets angry when Sunny tries to persuade him. Sunny says he’s scared of going back; Sam denies this. Tina talks to Simon and discovers that it was Simon whom Sam turned to when he first found out he was gay. Simon asks if Sam’s a good nurse; Tina says he’s a great nurse. Simon talks to Sam and suggests he go back to see what it’s like; he says he shouldn’t be able to look back on his life with regrets. At the last minute, Sam gets on the coach with Sunny and Tina. Tina falls asleep; Sam and Sunny start having a laugh, “talent-spotting” on the back seat. Suddenly a car comes out of nowhere, swerving between lanes, and hits other cars, then the coach. The coach comes to a stop and Sam gets out to try to help. The driver of the car causing the accident gets out but his girlfriend is too badly injured. Her breathing gets worse and Sam realises he has to do something. She needs a chrycho-thyroidotomy but he has no equipment and has never done one. Sunny encourages him and he does the operation with a stanley knife, sterilised with the vodka that caused the accident in the first place, and a biro tube. It works and her life is saved.
Sam, Sunny and Tina arrive back at Holby A&E. Sam goes in and is greeted by Adam; he then goes into the staff room and starts clearing out his locker. Tina finds him and asks what he’s doing; Sam says he’s leaving because of what happened today. He says it proved to himself that he wasn’t scared, as that’s no reason to quit, but he wants to move on, to do something different, maybe on a one-to-one basis with people. Tina eventually realises that this is what he wants; they promise to keep in touch and hug. Sunny sees them and realises that Sam’s leaving; he says he shouldn’t have dragged him back in the first place. Tina says he should, as Sam saved a girl’s life today – not a bad swansong. They leave, Sam taking one last look round.
Patients
– Ryan Wheeler, a building worker, cuts one of his fingers off.
– Carl Pearce, a 15-year old, paracetamol overdose.
– Emma Peters, a girl involved in a car crash, Sam saves at the scene.
First Scene/words
[The paramedics bring a patient into resus.]
Paramedic: This is Carl Pearce, age fifteen, suspected overdose of paracetamol. GCS 15.
Duffy: Okay, let’s get you onto the trolley. Carl, can you give us a hand?
Mother: He had a headache, he went to bed with it last night.
Duffy: Have you got any idea how many he’s taken?
There was one bottle half full, the other one I’m not sure.
Last Scene/words
[Sam is about to leave and he and Tina hug.]
Sunny: Have you got any money for the…. You’re leaving, aren’t you?
Sam: Yes.
Sunny: I shouldn’t have dragged you back.
Tina: ‘Course you should. He saved a girl’s life today, not a bad swan song, is it?
[Tina smiles and they all walk out of A&E.]
Review by Alison & Karin.
UK Viewing Figures
11.09m