New BBC Two and BBC Wales series to go inside Cardiff NHS hospitals

6 October 2023

From the makers of multi award-winning documentary series Hospital and Worlds Collide: The Manchester Bombing, Label1 (a Fremantle label) are delighted to announce that BBC Two and BBC Wales have commissioned a new six-part series of ‘Saving Lives’, with filming underway this week at the Cardiff and Vale University Hospitals.

Following the critically acclaimed series Saving Lives in Leeds based at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, the new series will follow the daily decisions made by clinicians, as they seek to transform the lives of their patients in South Wales, against a backdrop of mounting waiting lists.

Featuring observational filming and in-depth interviews, the programmes will reveal the full scale of clinicians’ caseloads, taking us to the heart of compelling and life affirming patient stories at the heart of the largest hospital in Wales. The series is due to air on BBC Two and BBC Wales next year.

The series explores the difficult decisions clinicians must make every day in deciding who is treated next and the real impact this has on the lives of patients and their families – and the staff who care for them. All set against the backdrop of the longest national waiting list for specialist clinical care or surgery in NHS history.

Clare Sillery, Head of Commissioning, Documentaries, said: “Representing the lives of our audience across the UK is incredibly important to us and I’m delighted that Saving Lives is back for another series. With unique access to the largest hospital in Wales, this series explores valuable and timely issues about the challenges facing the NHS in an accessible way.”

Nick Andrews, Senior Head of Commissioning, BBC Wales said: "It is terrific to have the new series of Saving Lives filmed here in Wales. A privileged glimpse into a remarkable world that without doubt has touched all our lives. As if the setting isn’t compelling enough, the life changing decisions staff are having to make every single day will move you, me and audiences in Wales and across the UK."

Lorraine Chalker-Phillips, CEO and Co-Founder of Label1, said: “Gaining access to any organisation is always an honour and something we never take for granted. Label1 are delighted to be making the next series of Saving Lives with our team in Wales as we continue to bring heart-warming and important stories to our audiences to show what’s going on inside our hospitals and the decisions that staff have to make day in day out on who to treat next”.

Jackie Waldock, Executive Producer of Saving Lives, said: “We are delighted to bring viewers this eye-opening medical series. Filmed across the whole of Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, it gives a unique insight into the variety of work being done across their departments at a time when decisions around how to tackle the growing backlog have never been more important.”

Suzanne Rankin, CEO, Cardiff and Vale University Health Board said: "I am extremely proud of the work that we do to support patients not just in Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan but across the whole of Wales. Colleagues do a difficult a job every day and the past few years have been more challenging than ever, however the series will give patients and their loved ones the opportunity to see some of the difficult decisions we make daily as well as the fantastic clinical work and expertise of the multi-disciplinary teams. Health is always advancing and viewers will see some of the best clinical innovations but also compassionate care that we give patients, who are often at their most vulnerable and lowest ebbs.”

Series two of ‘Saving Lives…’ was commissioned by Clare Sillery, Head of Commissioning, Documentaries and Nick Andrews, Senior Head of Commissioning, BBC Wales. Commissioning Editor for BBC Factual is Anna Dickeson and Commissioning Editor for BBC Wales is Sian Harris. It is Executive Produced by Jackie Waldock and Gaynor Davies for Label1 Television.