Geoff arrives after being struck down with an excruciating head pain that has left him semi-conscious. It's an emotional journey for his family, that takes Geoff from A&E to the operating theatre, to a realisation that changes his life. Time is critical too for Alan, who is rushed into A&E after collapsing in the street. Every second counts as the team struggle to keep him alive.

Gary is in the Coronary Care Unit with a life-threatening condition. The main artery in the body, has torn. He requires urgent surgery, but 1 in 4 people don't survive the operation. But with every minute making a difference, he has to make an instant decision and say goodbye to his family before going to theatre.

John arrives after being stabbed numerous times in his abdomen. He is in a critical condition and the team must act fast to find out organs have been affected. After stabilising him, he's quickly taken for a scan to reveal what's wrong and then rushed straight to theatre for emergency surgery to save his life. But the operation will leave him with lifelong complications.

David is rushed in after being attacked with a machete. His deep head and neck wounds are shocking. As they fight to stabilise him, his blood pressure drops and the team need to take urgent action. They must also get David to the CT scanner as fast as they can to properly assess his injuries. Every moment counts in his fight for life.

Time is a precious commodity when you are critically ill. For all the patients in this episode, the speed of the decisions are vital. Daniel's life hangs in the balance after a one punch attack in the street leaves him with a potentially devasting brain injury. Time is critical too for Michael, who has just been admitted having a cardiac arrest. The staff have just minutes to save his life.

In this episode Royal Stoke's doctors face exceptionally challenging cases: Joanna, a mother-of-one suffers a ruptured brain aneurism leaving Dr Nayak just minutes to attempt to stop the bleeding. Meanwhile, a 17-year-old girl is critically injured in a car crash - her parents race to her side while trauma team leader Dr Hall works to identify her injuries and get her to emergency surgery.