Synopsis
It's the show that ignited Australia's love of observational documentaries. For seventeen years it gave viewers around the country an access-all-areas pass to the inner workings of the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney. Or "RPA" as it affectionately became known.
It made household names of the patients, who so bravely and generously shared their stories - as well as the talented surgeons and physicians who not only put broken bodies back together, but in many cases broke the news to these patients that their prognosis was not good. Those real-life moments were captured in all their unfiltered emotional rawness. And now it's back. The strength of characters - the doctors and patients - and the sentiment, are the same, along with the emotion of their stories. Combined, they are the heart and soul of RPA. The old and, more importantly, the new.
We meet Joelene, a mother-of-three, from Orange, as she faces life-saving cancer surgery. Chicken shop owner Theo, whose tumour was discovered during a routine lung scan, post-Covid. DJ and music producer Kyle who is in for his second kidney transplant. Fifteen years after his brother donated one of his, their sister readies to give Kyle his second chance at life.
Embracing the vast changes in medicine in the last decade, the new RPA features advancements and new technologies: from lifesaving, minimally- invasive brain, heart, and robotic surgery, to the 24/7 state-wide Clot Retrieval Procedure for stroke sufferers, along with all the immediacy of the Emergency Department.
In a refreshed format, we add another layer to the medical teams who work at RPA. In master Interviews, we learn more about these heroes on the front-line saving lives - to understand why they do what they do and how it affects them.
Also new to this series - we get to know the patients more than ever before. In back stories and key interviews in their home environments, viewer's get to understand more about the patients' lives outside of the stressful consult room. Tracy, who is teaching her two teenagers how to run the family farm, as she faces a second major operation to remove a recurring brain tumour. Rock climber John, whose skin has yellowed as his degenerative liver disease deteriorates as he awaits a deceased donor organ transplant. And one of the most exciting stories of all - firefighter Nick who is there every step of the way as his wife carries a rare and high-risk triplet pregnancy.
RPA staff proudly claim, "we're the only hospital in Australia that does a bit of everything". Now they are doing even more.
