More gruelling late shifts in Maternal

Post-pandemic frontline medicine does not look like a particularly fun place to be working, if this consistently good hospital drama from acclaimed playwright Jacqui Honess-Martin is anything to go by.

It seems like our fearless medics, all returning to work after having children, just can’t get a break.

This week, Helen (Lisa McGrillis) endures a particularly gruelling late shift, running the Acute Medical Unit for the night, which basically consists of being run ragged for 12 hours. Case after case comes in, one of which is ex-Matron Amanda with her severely ill wife, and when Amanda says that Helen’s is the most demanding job in the hospital, we are inclined to believe her.

It’s not just the weight of the work that preys on Helen, though, and as the night wears on she makes an unsettling discovery about Guy (Oliver Chris). Now she’s not just the busiest in the building but the loneliest, too…

Before dawn breaks and her shift is over, Helen will have found somebody new to confide in. But is Jack (Raza Jaffrey) up to the job of confidant?

While all this is happening, Maryam (Parminder Nagra) and Catherine (Lara Pulver) endeavour to put the stresses and strains of work at the back of their minds for just a short time, embarking on an increasingly rare night out.

Lars and Brigitta are taking full care of Elis for the weekend, giving Catherine, who is in need of a distraction, the perfect opportunity to join Maryam on a Ladies Night organised by Maryam’s friends from the mosque.

There’s a buffet, a DJ and a dancefloor, but Maryam isn’t exactly buzzing to spend an evening with a load of women who treat her like a doctor – and a mum who shows her off as one – but even so, as the evening gets going, she begins to feel some of her anxiety taking a back seat.

But wouldn’t you just know it? They only end up having to leap into action themselves when a medical emergency unfolds before them. The situation presents Catherine with the biggest challenge of her surgical life; while it also leads Maryam to face up to how she is really feeling – and to start being honest with those she loves…

This episode is a strong one for McGrillis, whose character has come a long way after returning to work in the first episode. Helen had just had her third child and, as McGrillis adds when asked about her character, “And her husband is having an affair with a woman that Helen has to work with!

“But Helen can put on a front and go, ‘Okay, I’m just going to swallow this for a bit. I’m going to go in and be the best doctor I can. I’m going to do my ward rounds with a woman that my husband’s been having an affair with.’

“If that was me, I would absolutely fall apart! But Helen has an extraordinary strength”.

Which feels relevant to almost any aspect of medical work today.