Doctors and nurses at war. Part 1, Baptism of fire.

The first in a three-part series which follows doctors and nurses from the NHS at work in Bastian Hospital, a battlefield ER in Afghanistan. We follow medics as they train for action, leaving behind full-time positions in the NHS, most of them for the first time. Combat medics describe their work out on the field as they struggle to get patients back to the hospital. The effects of a suicide bomb are shown as the air ambulance leaves the hospital, collects the casualties and medical staff provide as much en route treatment as possible before the ER doctors take over back at the hospital. Orthopedic surgeon Hugo Guthrie describes the kind of wounds typical of this kind of event. A 5-year-old girl, Rahima, suffers severe injuries and has to have one hand amputated, while the other needs skin grafts. Meanwhile another 5-year-old girl dies in the emergency room.