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- An extended humorous public information film (lasting around fifteen minutes) narrated by Richard Wattis. Reg Varney plays a bumbling motorist who in the first half of the film gets into all sorts of mishaps as a result of driving too close to other vehicles and pedestrians. In the second half he learns the error of his ways and guided by a driving instructor friend shows the correct way to drive giving sufficient room to other road users, adapting to different speeds and road conditions.
- Sandra Ling has to deal with an emergency at her factory when a worker suffers life threatening injuries when equipment malfunctions and sprays him with the dangerous chemical phenol. The malfunction was no accident and was caused by another worker's sabotage. Meanwhile both Jo Longhurst and Shirley Brent are having uneasy relationships with more senior staff. Jo feels constantly criticised by Sister Ashton while Shirley's motives for working on the Psychiatric Ward are questioned by Dr. Berry.
- Shirley Brent is having great success connecting with the patients on the geriatric ward, showing a liking for such work unlike most of her colleagues. However things are going anything but smoothly for the previously accomplished Alison Salter whose erratic performance is giving cause for concern, perhaps because she has matters other than nursing very much on her mind.
- Student Nurses Longhurst and Rutherford both have clashes with authority. In an appraisal, Sister Easby accuses Nurse Longhurst of getting too involved with patients and lacking detachment. She takes these accusations very badly, feeling that she has been misjudged and victimized by an unfair appraisal system. Meanwhile, Nurse Rutherford is irritated by what she sees as unnecessary, irrelevant teaching, and nursing lecturer Miss Windrup targets her for her perceived lack of attentiveness.
- Student nurses are starting their courses at St Angela's Hospital. Flighty upper middle class Patricia Rutherford seems to have the biggest transition to make. Maureen Morahan has a much more earnest approach and has travelled from rural Ireland. The newcomers struggle to get to grips with their practical rather than fashionable uniforms. By contrast second year students Jo Longhurst and Shirley Brent go about their work on the wards with confidence and good humour.
- Jo Longhurst has chosen Mr. Collins for her case history but has she made a wise choice? He is an extremely difficult patient, very bitter at his illness and snapping angrily at the nurses and fellow patients, especially Mr. Slingsby who remains upbeat and seems to delight in talking about his treatment in graphic detail.
- Life on the psychiatric ward can be a trial for everyone, with the patients frequently at each others' throats. Shirley sees this as her vocation but Pat Rutherford mocks her involvement and Shirley herself starts to wonder if she is really cut out for such work.
- Pat Rutherford tries to arrange a wedding ceremony for Mrs. Sheppard who is terminally ill but her well-intentioned plan meets a number of obstacles. Jo and Sita have their work cut out dealing with the prickly Keith Aldiss, a very well-informed but awkward patient. Sister Bodinetz gives Jo a run as nurse in charge but being in authority has its pitfalls as well as its benefits.
- It's the end of the nursing year and a time for the student nurses to look to their future. For some of them it's a look forward to a career as a staff nurse or towards a future specialism. However for one of them an incident with a notoriously difficult patient may mark the end of her career before it's barely begun.
- The older patients attend a concert but it is not for all of them an enjoyable time. Jo Longhurst replaces Shirley Brent on the shift and finds it an eye-opening experience. Shirley is away sharing an evening with a male friend who is about to go away but will it prove a night to remember?
- Sister Young accuses head porter Harry Jamieson of carelessly transporting a patient. In protest he calls all the porters out on strike. The incident is witnessed by junior nurse Ruth Fullman and places her in a very difficult position, amplified by her desire to be promoted to the position of staff nurse for which she will need her Sister's recommendation.
- The nurses are working with elderly patients, encountering a range of characters and experiences. Pat Rutherford develops a close relationship with Dodie but other patients prove rather more difficult to handle. In one instance one of them suffers a broken leg, apparently when being moved, and the possibility of negligence or even abuse rears its head.
- Maternity is the theme. Mrs. Clark is rushed to hospital in labour and is worried to discover that her birth will be more complicated than usual. Sandra Ling - who is interested in a career in occupational health - discovers that a sixteen year old factory worker called Barbara Swainson is pregnant. Barbara is very concerned about her father's reaction; Sandra tries to make this easier for her but will she be successful?
- Maureen and Pat get the chance to return to their families for a break. Maureen is particularly pleased to return to Ireland, including seeing boyfriend Michael, but notices a tension with her younger sister Kate. Pat visits her upper middle class family near Bath and hears some alarming revelations about her parents.
- The student nurses are excitedly receiving their exam results and most of them are in a state of celebration. However senior student nurse Shirley Brent misses the morning post and events during the day make her wonder whether she cares whether or not she has passed.
- Shirley Brent has a difficult time dealing with Diana, a drug addict, squatter and a frequent patient. Diana has some harsh things to say to Shirley who struggles to keep composed. However Shirley has more success with another regular patient, the elderly Miss Buckle, whose ailments may not be all they seem.
- Young nurse Linda Hollis sees her marriage to Brian, a student, come under severe strain as he becomes increasingly frustrated with the demands of her career. Meanwhile first year student nurses come into contact with patients on the wards for the first time.
- For most people leaving hospital is a relief but not for Mr. Pettit who is terrified of the prospect and refuses to leave. Social worker Sarah Tuddenham tries to help him and discovers his problems are social rather than medical. Elsewhere the busy and cheery exterior of nursing lecturer Miss Windrop hides a woman craving for company while Jo Longhurst is persuaded by Ruth Fullman to invite the standoffish Shirley Brent to a party.
- Nurse Ruth Fullman has a difficult time on the night shift. She feels uncomfortable with agency nurse Audrey Steiner with neither seeming to trust the other. Dr. Crozier brightens up her evening but even this brings her into conflict with the Number 7 and later all the ward staff have to deal with an emergency.
- Maureen takes Patricia to see her Aunt Kath and then the pair visit a pub. Patricia finds the night livened up by meeting up with Maureen's cousin Barney but they also encounter Beryl, a former nurse at St Angela's, who feels rather in the need of company and may not have left the hospital as far behind as it first seems.
- Ruth Fullman is pleased when her friend and former colleague Clare Truman arrives as a maternity patient. Clare, with her husband and new baby, seems to show that there is a very fulfilling life outside nursing; however she may not be as happy as she first appears. Meanwhile Nurse Morahan is worried about her personal finances.
- A new year brings changes for many of the nurses including a new positive attitude from the previously disaffected Pat Rutherford. However she and the other nurses have their work cut out coping with a young boy suffering from meningitis and his mother who is struggling to come to terms with his serious illness. Sita Patel receives an unexpected ticking-off from one of the Sisters while Shirley Brent also finds her conduct causing concern after she snaps at a patient's relative.
- Jo Longhurst invites the withdrawn and intense Shirley Brent to a party where she meets up with an equally ill at ease male nurse. Jo attracts an admirer but is he the right man for her? Meanwhile a young doctor tries to persuade Sita to attend while for two other nurses actually reaching the party proves to be quite a challenge.
- Young Staff Nurse Linda Hollis finds that managing a busy, unpredictable ward doesn't always sit with well with married life. Meanwhile two of her Student Nurses Jo Longhurst and Shirley Brent are having a fractious relationship with Jo irritated by Shirley's officious and abrasive character. However Jo can sense that Shirley is lonely and tries to adopt a more friendly and supportive attitude that might make her more amenable.
- A harrowing incident with a patient leaves Sandra Ling very shaken but she is shocked by the sense of detachment of one of her colleagues. Joan White organises a get-together to mark thirty years in nursing for Heather Windrup. Is this though really a cause for celebration or an opportunity for soul-searching? Is Heather still able to connect with the students of today?
- Maureen joins community health nurse June Morris on her rounds. In contrast to the cheery June, Maureen seems very unimpressed with the patients and their dour environments. Pat Rutherford detects a change for the worse in the previously non-judgemental Maureen; however a visit to retired teacher and alcoholic Jack Knight gives her pause for thought.
- Maureen and Pat decide to find their own flat outside of the nurses' quarters but are they really suited to living together? The solitary Heather Windrup gets a rare chance for some company but will her visitor live up to expectation? The weekend though is still a working time for Jo Longhurst and she tries to raise the spirits of a depressed patient by arranging a rare visit from her brother but should a nurse visit the home of a patient's relative?
- Rock musician Lance Porter is suing his father Reverend Fortescue Porter in a civil case. He composed a rock opera called "Jesus, Baby!" about the nativity. He promised his father the copyright to the show on the understanding that if he fell on hard times he would receive part of the proceeds. However his father then spent all the considerable revenue on charitable causes even though he strongly disapproved of the content and style of the show. Reverend Fortescue says he did nothing wrong. At the time neither he nor his son expected the production to make money. In his view Lance has not fallen on hard times and has no need for any share.
- Charles Oldbury died in the bathroom of the old people's home where he lived. Dr. Fulmer who attended the scene thought he had suffered a heart attack and then drowned in the bath; she tried to resuscitate him without success. However the owners of the home - Margaret and Kenneth Povey - are now on trial accused of his murder and of defrauding his estate of £30 000 with the aid of convicted solicitor's clerk Leonard Saxton. The prosecution claim that they fabricated a change to his will for their benefit and then killed him in the bath, trying to make his death appear to be one of drowning. Both defendants deny all charges. They insist the change to the will was genuine and Mr. Oldbury's death was a tragic accident.
- Sophie Mannering, editor of the radical magazine "Tell", faces the rare charge of seditious libel. It is alleged she knowingly published an article which urged readers to "kill the pigs". This was distributed at a demonstration which involved violent clashes with the police. Miss Mannering insists the edition found at the demonstration was a fabrication planted by an agent provocateur. She and her colleagues and her supporters admit they are unhappy with what they see as police brutality but assert they deplore violence and would never advocate its use. Unusually Miss Mannering dismisses her counsel Mr. Salter during the trial, arguing that as her publication is "for the people" she should conduct her own defence.
- Tipskill Manor, a large derelict, abandoned house burned down while retired teacher Millicent Conway watched on. At the scene Miss Conway, who once worked at the Manor, appeared to confess to a police officer that she set fire to the house. An empty can of paraffin was found at the scene and she had also made a purchase of paraffin from a local shop even though she had never done so before and owned no paraffin heater. However Miss Conway now denies the offence. The defence argue that there is no proof that she started the fire or that the fuel found by the house even belonged to her. They assert she was merely a bystander.
- Sylvia Spencer visited Dr. Jonathan Francis seeking to terminate her pregnancy - she had been deserted by her boyfriend and wanted to conceal her condition from her brutal, disapproving father. Dr. Francis told her that an abortion was not possible and persuaded her to continue the pregnancy and release her baby for adoption. She took this advice and immediately after birth the child was placed in the custody of Mrs. Hine who had been unsuccessfully trying to become pregnant for years. However the prosecution allege this was no legal or proper adoption case. Both women were patients of Dr. Francis and the prosecution argue that Mrs. Hine was tricked into paying £2000 to adopt the child under the pretext of extortionate charges for care of Miss Spencer during a "difficult" pregnancy. The doctor faces trial for obtaining money by deception but insists he is innocent - the costs were entirely legitimate and in no way payment for adoption.
- Emma Lakeland stands accused of smuggling Grigori Petrov, a suspected terrorist, from France into Britain. The prosecution allege that she sympathised with his activities, was his lover and willingly helped him escape from the French authorities, picking him up at sea and taking him back to her home in Fulchester. Both her father and a former friend - who had been Petrov's lover before her - testify for the prosecution. However she argues he physically attacked her, came to Britain of his own accord and then forced her to harbour him.
- Long serving prison officer William Hogarth, a strict disciplinarian, is accused of wounding with intent Johnson, an unpopular inmate. Johnson was found injured in the toilets where he had gone in search of secreted drugs. Hogarth insists his innocence and argues that the assault was actually committed by another inmate who then tried to frame him for the offence.
- Roddy Maitland, the rising if temperamental star of British tennis, stormed off court during a Wimbledon semi-final. He then drove up to Fulchester to confront Dr. Holt-Matthews, the father of his pregnant girlfriend Gail. On being told that that her pregnancy was now over he attempted suicide in a hotel room by slashing his wrists. However it is Maitland who is now on trial for criminal libel after writing a letter in which the Prosecution allege he maliciously and falsely claimed the doctor to be "an abortionist" and "a murderer". The Defence case is that Dr. Holt-Matthews's callous attitude led him to such a conclusion and that there is no proof Gail had a genuine miscarriage.
- Elspeth Durrant, a temperamental woman with a history of mental illness and suicide attempts, is found dead in her bed after taking a large number of pills and alcohol. Shortly before she had told her husband Frank that she was going to commit suicide. However the prosecution insist this was not a genuine suicide but a case of murder - he was tired of her behaviour and asphyxiated her by turning her face into her pillow while she was unconscious.
- James Mallard signed a confession admitting that he had stolen a car belonging to his doctor with whom he and his family have long been unhappy. He had hinted to the doctor just before the incident that he would do him some harm. Mallard has now retracted his confession and asserts his innocence. He argues that he was forced into a confession by Sergeant Attrass who has long victimised him because of his criminal past. The prosecution argue that the initial confession was absolutely correct. They have eye-witness testimony linking Mallard to the crime and insist the Sergeant has treated Mallard quite fairly.
- Douglas Cardy, head-teacher of a school for disabled children, stands accused of ill-treating one of his pupils - Tom Rigby, a fifteen year old with cerebral palsy. It is alleged he struck the boy after he turned on taps and flooded the school and then locked him in a bare room for nine hours. Cardy denies the charge and insists he punished the boy in a reasonable manner for the good of the whole school.
- Computer programmer Samuel Warren is accused of transferring £125000 over a long period from his employers by computer to a non-existent company - whose supposed bank account number matched his own. Warren does not deny that he made the transfers but claims they were not fraudulent and intended to expose the poor computer security of the company which had consistently ignored his warnings of the problems. He insists he had no intention of spending the money and intended to pay it back.
- Rosalind Fortescue was a resident until her death in an expensive care home where she developed a close relationship with her nurse Bridget Behan. Miss Behan told her she wanted to set up a care home of her own and Mrs. Fortescue paid her £10000 towards this end. However the care home was never established and the prosecution claim that Miss Behan deceived her resident and then spent the money on luxuries for herself. Miss Behan protests her innocence. Her case is that she always intended to use the money for the care home but was frustrated in her aim by Mrs. Fortescue's son who always resented her and only wanted to protect his inheritance.
- For four years the Barlows fostered a young girl - Minnie Biddulph - whose biological parents were both alcoholics. The Barlows hoped to adopt Minnie but instead Miss Prossitt, the Head of Social Services, ordered that Minnie be returned to her biological mother who was now recovered. However the prosecution say that Mr. Barlow ignored the order and took the girl to London. He is now in court accused of child stealing. The defence case is that he was never told that Minnie had to be returned. They also suggest that Miss Prossitt's decision was racially motivated as the Barlows are an African-Caribbean family and Minnie a white girl.
- Inspector Bill Clegg, an unconventional detective, is accused of obtaining money by deception. The prosecution allege that he exaggerated his expense claims by over two hundred pounds, possibly to pay a major informer called Harry after his superior officers refused to authorise payment. Clegg argues that he has been unfairly accused by his colleagues and is merely guilty of making genuine errors, not being preoccupied with paperwork like some of them.
- The body of Joseph Meadows, a rich, reclusive, hypochondriac businessman, is found inside a deep-freeze cabinet in a cellar at his home. However this was no ordinary cellar but kitted out as a surgical ward under the charge of Hungarian refugee Dr. Karoly Sebes with whom he shared the house. The prosecution assert that Dr. Sebes murdered Meadows in a spurious cryogenic experiment. However the defence claim that Sebes is innocent - his technique was working and his patient only died when a police officer opened the cabinet and ruined any chance of success.
- Charles Holloway is charged with murdering two women - an aunt and her niece - who lived in the flat above. He does not deny shooting the women but pleads diminished responsibility, arguing that their extreme anti-social behaviour caused him to lose control. The Prosecution, however, insist the shootings were premeditated.
- Anthony Smith and Jim Webb are accused of various offences relating to an incident when they picketed the premises of the True Loaf bakery where they were on strike. The prosecution allege that they obstructed and then intimidated lorry driver Ronald Bates who was attempting to deliver flour. A police officer was called and it is also alleged they assaulted him. However both defendants proclaim their innocence. They argue that Bates - with whom they used to work - used violence against them and is a committed anti-unionist and racist who was trying to break their strike. Webb, the shop steward and strike leader who is conducting his own defence, also asserts that the police officer wanted to break the strike and is vindictive in his claim.
- In an unusual case, the Crown Court has to decide whether Megwyn Spiteri is fit to stand trial on the charge of murdering her five-year-old twins David and Maria. The defence accepts that the children died after Mrs. Spiteri gave them an overdose of dexedrine. However, it asserts that she was unable to cope with them - they were difficult and disturbed - and killed them while suffering from psychotic delusions that they were possessed by demons. Mrs. Spiteri says she believes the children are still alive and that she "saved them", and the defence argues that this proves she is unfit for trial. However, the prosecution - while accepting her difficult personal circumstances - says that she knew what she was doing at the time of their deaths and now, and has invented the delusions to avoid trial.
- Mrs. Constance Bell was shocked to read in a magazine that a ming vase had sold at auction for £95 000 - shocked because she argues this vase was family property bequeathed by her late mother and which she says had been sold without permission. In a civil case she is now suing her brothers Albert and Peter and antiques dealer Nigel Greatorex whom she says improperly sold the item. The defendants deny her accusations, asserting that the vase had been legally passed on to them and it was their right to sell.
- Industrial chemist Alec Parker stands accused of criminal damage, specifically of damaging a pump at the factory where he worked, resulting in repairs costing £20000. At the time there was a strike in the factory and the prosecution claim that Parker holds militant views and did this in order to avoid having to work on the shop-floor to replace the strikers as ordered by management. Parker's father was one of the strikers and Parker admits he sympathised with their action. However he says he would never have damaged equipment as this would have jeopardised his own research. He argues that his boss Garfield Lawrence wants to discredit him so he can take full credit for the research tasks on which the pair have worked.
- Robert Denton, a clerical officer at a weapons research establishment, stands charged with copying a secret document about a missile and then selling the information to the Soviet Union. The prosecution offer unusual proof that he copied the document and argue that he sold the information for £5000 to try to solve his major financial difficulties. Denton denies the charges and insists he would never betray his country.
- Lady Carvell received a telephone call from her son Sebastian telling her that he had been kidnapped by the KLF - a South African militant group - and that unless a ransom of $250,000 were paid, he would be killed. Sebastian later turned up at the family home but the ransom money was missing from the house safe. Sebastian is now on trial accused of faking the kidnapping as a pretext for stealing the ransom money. The prosecution claim that he was a KLF sympathiser and intended to direct the funds to them. They claim he was influenced by his then girlfriend Amarylis Roper who holds revolutionary views. However Sebastian insists the kidnapping was genuine, he did not support the KLF and had no part in the disappearance of the money.