Original subtitles

Right, the facts are, Lucinda,

you had to deal with a gunshot victim,

so you left Edith Owusu in Ramya's capable hands

with a clear management plan, which you, Ramya, followed.

You chose to leave Edith with a doctor

whose incompetence has been shown and that choice killed her!

Edith Owusu died following the self-administration

of a large quantity of fentanyl.

I assume we're done. You know that's not how this works.

When it's an accident, you look at what caused the accident.

The drugs. PHONE RINGING

Camilla, hi. I'm the new doctor that took over from Rob.

How do you pay Rob?

I pay the pharmacy, like I usually do.

This is Jubair Singh. Nice to meet you.

He's the owner of the Wellspring Pharmacy chain.

Instead of complaining, you should focus on your work,

and you wouldn't make so many mistakes.

I may have mentioned a dispensing error that you made.

What? Take a look at that.

Lucinda told me to get 40 milligrams.

I even questioned the dose at the time.

Abi? What you doing? Abi?

Go on, move!

Please help! I think she got hold of some diazepam.

Luc, it's Tom. You have to come to the hospital.

We're in A&E. It's Abi. She's really sick.

Right, I'll just be down the end of the corridor,

so if you need anything just give me a shout, OK?

Thanks.

Wait, wait, wait. Tom. I'll be back in a bit.

Just wait one second.

I was just coming to see you. How's she doing?

Yeah, she's doing really well.

They're just waiting for her bloods to come back.

And once they're clear, we can take her home.

Yeah, well, before you do that,

we need to discuss this social services referral.

What? Can I see it? Beth, let me see it.

Beth, you can't send this. You said it was an accident.

Well, it was an accident, but social services won't see it that way.

They'll just take Abi and... What if the MIU find out about...

God, Jesus, please. Look, look, look, look.

I asked Lucinda to throw out my tablets out ages ago.

Please don't punish Abi for my mistake.

Please, Beth.

OK.

Sometimes, referrals get lost, so I'll sort it out.

SHE EXHALES Thank you.

Thank you.

I need to get some air.

You need to sort yourself out. What are you talking about?

No, if I catch you stealing any more meds from my store in A&E,

I'll report you to the MIU myself.

Do you understand me, Lucinda?

Do you understand me?

I'm sorry, I have to...

I have to check on my kid.

DOOR UNLOCKING

SHE EXHALES

Where were you yesterday?

I told you, I went for a walk.

Why was your phone switched off?

Jesus, Tom, if I knew what was going on,

I wouldn't have turned it off.

That doesn't explain why it was switched off.

Are you still using diazepam?

No.

Where did Abi get those tablets from, then?

We were playing upstairs earlier.

She must've found an old strip of mine, I don't know.

Look, I really wanna help, Luc,

but you're gonna have to start telling me the truth.

Tom, I stopped taking diazepam when I went back to work.

OK? I told you that.

I told you, you shouldn't have gone back to work.

I said you weren't ready, didn't I? What were we meant to do, Tom?

Because you barely have a job,

and I have to pay for things around here, don't I?

You need help.

Come here, I'm sorry. OK? I didn't mean that.

What are you doing? We're leaving.

What? Why?

Why? Because you lied about the drugs.

I didn't, Tom. I didn't. Oh, just stop it. Stop it, Lucinda.

Right, you put our daughter's life in danger.

You've been acting off for weeks.

I don't know, maybe it's the investigation,

maybe it's the drugs, maybe it's just you.

I don't know, but whatever it is, you need to sort it out.

Tom, please listen to me. I do not take drugs.

OK? I swear on Abi's life. On Abi's life?

You swear on Abi's life? Seriously?

That is low, especially after yesterday.

I'm taking Abi to my parents' house until you sort out your priorities.

Right, the first item on the agenda of this month's meeting

is the inquest into Edith Owusu's death

and the prevention of future deaths report, summarised in appendix A.

As you can imagine,

the report risks serious damage to the Trust's reputation.

It says here that if we don't provide a satisfactory response

to the coroner's report,

the Trust is at risk of losing its trainees.

Is that correct? Yes. And we can't afford that.

The hospital's finances are precarious,

and we receive a substantial amount of funding

from the deanery to train doctors.

As I'm in charge of medical education,

I will liaise with Leo Harris about that.

Great. This is a priority, keep us updated on the progress.

Erm, right, the next issue I'd like to raise is Dr Lucinda Edwards.

It's come to my attention

that her three-year-old daughter was admitted into A&E yesterday

having taken diazepam.

If social services get involved further down the line

and it comes to light that she's also being investigated by the MIU,

it will not look good for the Trust.

So, what are you suggesting we do?

Well, we can get ahead of any negative press

if we terminate her contract now.

If she remains in post and the MIU strike her off,

it's not gonna look good.

Lucinda is still technically a trainee...

..and as a teaching hospital, we're responsible for her welfare.

We can't just cut people loose when it suits us.

I have to agree with Corinne.

I think the Trust would look incredibly... unsupportive

if it sacked Dr Edwards

before any investigations were completed, Mike.

Lucinda is not a trainee in difficulty, she's a liability.

Let's take a vote.

All those in favour of Dr Edwards remaining in post, raise your hand.

Right, come on. Come on now. OK.

Gonna have a nice time at Granny and Grandy's house, yeah?

Yeah. Mummy's gonna give you a call later.

I could...

Tom, I could drop over some dinner for her, some fish and chips.

Would you like some fish and chips, sweetie?

Yeah. And some ice cream?

Yeah. Ice cream and jelly?

Oh, that'd be lovely, wouldn't it?

Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Bye.

OK, see you later. Bye-bye. Bye, sweetie. Bye-bye.

Oh, Tom. Tom.

SOBBING

PHONE BUZZES

Hello? MAN: You all right there?

Hi. Hi.

I'm Dr Edwards. I'm here to amend a prescription.

Oh, right, it's just down there and then up the stairs.

All right? Thanks.

KNOCKING ON DOOR

Come in.

Ah. Jubair Singh.

Yeah, I know who you are, we met before.

Yeah, we met at the Patient Care Awards. Yeah.

Please, take a seat, Lucinda.

I understand you came into one of my pharmacies yesterday

and accused my dispenser of taking an extra payment

for a prescription you wrote.

What was that about?

Is Camilla Woodham a patient of yours?

No. You know she isn't.

Why did you write her out a prescription, then?

Are you being serious right now?

She is an addict

that you're illegally selling prescriptions drugs to.

OK? And I know she's not the only one.

I'd be careful what you accuse me of, Lucinda.

I'm gonna to report you to the MIU.

If you were gonna do that, you'd have done it already,

but you haven't, have you?

I've been to a meeting of the Hospital Trust Board this morning

where your future was discussed.

Your daughter's overdose is gonna look a whole lot worse

if they find out you've been hiding a diazepam addiction, isn't it?

You keep quiet, and I can keep quiet.

We don't need to cause each other any trouble.

Do we?

No.

OK.

Thanks for coming in.

Oh, and if you haven't already,

make sure you throw Rob's phone away.

Just incriminates you more than me.

Hello, hello. Ooh. Thanks.

Here you are. Lovely.

That's not oat milk, is it? No, it's normal milk.

SHE GROANS Sorry, we ran out.

I can go get some.

No, it's all right. We better crack on.

You sure? So...

We've got Lucinda potentially prescribing Edith Owusu fentanyl

then trying to make it look like a suicide attempt

to direct attention away from the drugs.

That's enough to get Lucinda struck off.

Well, it's worse than that.

I mean, if she prescribed the drugs that killed Edith,

her parents could easily bring a criminal case against her.

I just don't understand why

we didn't find any drugs in the flat...

..but Edith kept this prescription, for some reason.

What are you getting at? I don't know. It's just convenient.

People like Lucinda, they think they're invincible,

but sooner or later, they slip up.

And that's what this is.

Right. What you doing today?

I am going to the RH to get samples of Lucinda's past prescriptions

for handwriting analysis.

Excellent. Do you want me to talk to Ramya while I'm there?

Oh, yeah. Find out if she's been keeping an eye on our girl.

Yeah. Great.

PHONE BUZZES

DOOR OPENS

How was your night?

Yeah, fine, thanks.

How's Abi doing?

Good.

Oh, Lucinda. Back so soon. Yeah.

How's Abi?

She is great. Thank you.

She's with her daddy, so... Good.

Can I ask you, how's everything in ITU?

Not too bad. Same ITU, different day.

Oh, your friend Rob, yes, he's showing signs of improvement.

Great. He's having a repeat CT scan now.

Is he talking yet? Hmm.

He's alert, not talking, but it's definite progress.

Great. Actually, do you have five minutes?

Erm... Five minutes.

I'll be quick. There's someone I'd really like you to see.

Come. Mm-hm.

It's me again.

This is Dr Edwards.

Lucinda Edwards? Yeah.

Look, I will leave you two, OK?

She's one of our best, so play fair. Thank you.

It's OK if I sit down? Sure.

So, you're the one who saved my life?

No, no, it was...

It was my team, did.

I heard it was mainly you.

The amount of trouble you caused. Did I?

Well, you look a lot better than the last time I saw you.

Yeah, I feel better. Yeah.

You looking forward to going home?

I feel safer here, to be honest.

Can you do me a favour? Can you give me your phone?

Can you promise me that you won't end up in A&E any time soon?

And contact me if you need me. Here, that's my number.

You chirpsing me?

You just stay out of trouble, Yussef. Please.

I don't mind. Don't go. Where you going?

I'm going to work.

KNOCKING ON DOOR Yup.

Hi. Sorry, just one sec.

Yup? I sent off the handwriting samples.

Great.

Something else?

Tom, it's me again.

Stop ignore my phone calls, and I need to see Abi.

So just call me back, please.

SIGHS

PHONE BUZZES

Ready? Yup.

Three days ago, Sir Anthony Owusu gave us permission

to visit Edith Owusu's flat.

While we were there, we found this.

What is that?

We were hoping you could tell us.

It's a prescription for fentanyl. Written by you.

Were you prescribing Edith Owusu fentanyl?

No.

At the inquest, it was assumed

Edith was getting her fentanyl on the streets.

This would suggest otherwise.

No, I didn't... I didn't write this.

We're having the handwriting independently verified.

Someone must've planted that there to frame me.

And who would that be?

Is it the same person who called you before Edith came into A&E?

Yes.

It was another doctor, a GP called Rob Thornbury.

Rob Thornbury. OK. Who's Rob Thornbury?

Rob was my supervisor at medical school.

We... became good friends.

He told me Edith was an addiction patient that he was looking after.

One day, he called me, and he told me

that Edith had accidentally overdosed

on a drug that he had prescribed.

He knew I was working in A&E, so he asked me to look after her...

..and to code the overdose as deliberate

so that nobody would look... at his prescribing.

Why didn't you tell us this before?

Because he told me not to.

He thought your investigation was gonna blow over

and that nobody needed to know the rest.

But you falsified Edith's notes.

Coding an accidental overdose as deliberate

didn't seem that big of a deal.

I didn't believe that Rob deserved to be investigated

because of one prescribing error.

I thought he was a good doctor.

OK, but it wasn't just one prescribing error, was it?

Cos he's called you before.

Do the names Alexander Taylor

and Camilla Woodham mean anything to you?

No. No?

Kathy, can you please show her the A&E case notes?

Yep. Here you are.

Do you recognise these notes?

Like, yeah, I wrote them. But I see hundreds of patients.

I don't remember every single one of their names.

Both of these patients presented with "deliberate" opioid overdoses

shortly after you received a call from this Rob Thornbury.

So, were they actually deliberate...

..or were they accidents, like Edith's?

They were accidents.

Rob called me, that's how I knew they were coming in.

Did it not seem unusual to you

that so many of Dr Thornbury's patients

were accidentally overdosing on drugs that he was prescribing?

Honestly, no. Prescribing for addicts is hard to do safely.

And I didn't think it was fair

that Rob's prescribing could be criticised

because they could've overdosed for any number of reasons.

I only realised at Edith's inquest that Rob wasn't her GP

and that he had prescribed her fentanyl instead of methadone.

OK, well, where can we find this Dr Rob Thornbury?

In ITU at the RH.

He works in IT. You just said he was a GP.

He is. He's...

He was in an accident a few weeks ago.

How convenient that the one person who can corroborate your story

just happens to be in a critical condition.

Believe me, I am telling the truth. None of this is my fault.

This is starting to sound like a pack of lies, Lucinda.

No, wait. You need to speak to Rob's wife, Eva Thornbury.

OK? She's a part of this.

And she was Edith's doctor at the Guelder Clinic.

Dr Eva... Do you mean Dr Eva Tait?

Yes! Yeah, she must practise under her maiden name, Tait.

She knew exactly what Rob was doing.

She was referring her patients from the Guelder Clinic to Rob.

Did Eva Tait ask you to prescribe opioids for Edith Owusu?

I barely know Eva. I met her after Edith had died.

Lucinda, have you ever illegally prescribed opioid medication

for Alexander Taylor? No.

Have you ever illegally prescribed opioid medication

for Camilla Woodham? No.

Have you ever met Alexander Taylor, Camilla Woodham or Edith Owusu

anywhere other than the RH's A&E department?

No. This is serious, Lucinda.

We're not just talking about the end of your career here.

If you prescribed Edith the drugs that killed her,

you could end up facing criminal charges of manslaughter.

I didn't. I was trying to save her life!

No, you've got this all wrong. It was Eva and Rob, not me.

We've also received information from a reliable source...

..suggesting that you've been abusing diazepam

and stealing it from A&E.

What? Who told you that?

Our source wishes to remain anonymous.

However, we would like you to undergo formal drug testing

at an independent centre.

No. No, you say you have a reliable source - who is it?

Cos I am a victim in all this.

And it doesn't matter what I do,

you keep coming after me, and I am sick of it.

You are far from the victim.

We believe you prescribed drugs illegally

for someone who was not your patient.

Those drugs killed her.

You've admitted to falsifying medical records

to cover this criminal behaviour.

Concerns have been raised about you stealing diazepam from A&E

to feed your alleged addiction,

and we know diazepam found its way

into the hands of your three-year-old daughter at home,

which nearly killed her.

Lucinda.

Where did you get that diazepam?

My husband told A&E

that they were from a prescription from an old shoulder injury.

Why can't you believe that?

Will you agree to undergo drug testing?

I strongly recommend you comply, Lucinda.

Fine.

I have to get back to work. Are we done?

No, we're not. Let's just... take a seat.

Oh, for God's sake, what now?

The story you've told today doesn't make sense.

You've blamed everything on Rob Thornbury and Eva Tait,

but, Lucinda, you are to blame

for the situation you find yourself in.

I am no longer confident

that you're fit to practise medicine safely.

Therefore, we are suspending you with immediate effect

while we continue our investigation.

No. No, no, no. You can't do that. You can't suspend me.

Yes, we can.

We'll notify HR,

and your training programme director of your suspension.

You must not enter any clinical area of the hospital,

and you should return your ID and access cards immediately.

No, no, George, come on, talk to her, please.

I did not do this.

This is not something I would do. You know me.

George, you know me. I would not do this. Tell her.

Unless you have anything useful to add,

we can end this interview now.

George? Let's go.

No. George. George, look at me, come on.

You'll receive a letter with the date

of your tribunal hearing in due course.

Thank you for coming in. Goodbye.

Thank you. Lucinda. Thank you.

VOICE DISTORTING: This is much more serious now.

We should think about your defence for the tribunal,

find supporting witnesses

and gather evidence of your good practice.

Do you understand?

Lucinda?

GEORGE EXHALES

Do you believe her? No.

I don't know.

er story's all over the place, and she's the only doctor

we absolutely know treated all of these patients.

She's involved, whatever this is.

Yes, but I think it could be more complicated than that.

If there is a personal connection

between Lucinda and this Rob Thornbury,

we can't ignore it.

Come on. Rob's such a good friend,

Lucinda's willing to risk her entire career for him?

I know not all of it makes sense,

but there was something off about the Guelder Clinic.

We should speak to Eva Tait. At least.

And we will. OK.

But, if Lucinda's an addict, and it's looking likely,

what she says won't be reliable.

You're the one who brought this to me, George, remember?

Yeah.

Kathy, can you check with the RH's chief pharmacist

whether they're missing any prescriptions?

Sure. Did you want me to set up the meeting with Dr Tait as well?

Yeah. But be sensitive.

Find out what Dr Thornbury's condition is first,

and let's offer to meet her at home rather than in here.

OK. Thanks, Kathy.

TOM: I'll be back in a second.

You weren't returning any of my calls, so...

Can I come in?

I'm really struggling, Tom.

Yeah, I don't think I should be on my own right now.

I've got to prioritise Abi.

Can you show me all of the toys that Nan got ya?

Can we play with some of the toys?

Let's see. What do we have here?

What's his name? Lamb.

He's a lovely lamb, isn't he?

Did Daddy get you that? Yeah.

You know they suspended me.

Didn't they?

But Daddy doesn't look very surprised.

I spoke to Beth Relph earlier.

She told me.

You spoke to Beth?

We discussed Abi and the social services referral.

And, erm...

I told her to go ahead with it.

What the fuck, Tom? I can't cover for you any more.

It's the right thing to do. You need help.

How is reporting me to social services gonna help me?

Not in front of Abi. You're scaring me!

Yeah, well, you're scaring her. You're meant to be on my side.

OK. So, what happens now?

Well, they want to do...

...a social services assessment

with Abi and us here next week.

And then if they're happy with the current arrangement, then...

..I don't know, I guess we'll see what happens from there.

Look, I've gotta get Abi's tea.

I can stay and help. No.

Not when you're like this, not when you're upset.

Give Mummy a kiss goodbye.

I love you, Mummy.

You be good for Daddy.

I miss you, Mummy. I love you so much.

You've done some really good work here, Oscar.

It's very thorough. Thank you.

I know that junior doctors grumble about having to do audits.

God knows I did enough myself,

but it's important work nevertheless, so well done.

Yeah, well, you know, I was shocked at just the amount of stuff

that the hospital was throwing away.

That's not really my area.

Dr Willett oversees all the hospital's drug purchases,

but I do know that most of our waste drugs go to a charity.

And what is it that they do?

Oh, they test the drugs, and then those ones that are still viable

get sent oversees to developing nations,

so it's not technically waste, as such.

I didn't realise.

So, that kinda makes my audit a little bit...

Oh, no, not at all, no. No. Look, I'll talk to Mike about it.

I'm sure there's some use we have for this data.

Might even get a publication out of it.

That would be amazing. Thank you, Dr Harris.

Terrific. Well done. Thank you. Thank you.

Wait, this definitely isn't being paid for by an NHS salary, right?

No.

Hi. I'm Dr Norma Callahan.

This is my colleague, Dr George Adjei.

Hi.

Oh, sorry, from the Medical Investigation Unit.

You spoke with our colleague Kathy yesterday.

Oh, God, yes.

Of course. I'm so sorry. I forgot.

We can come back another time if you'd prefer.

No, you're here, it's fine. Please, come in.

During our investigation into Dr Edwards...

..some alarming claims have been made

regarding your husband's medical practice.

We wondered if you could shed any light

on the nature of their relationship.

The nature of their relationship?

Well, she was his student when he taught,

before he become a GP.

What's she been saying about him?

Well, at this stage we can't go into any detail, but...

..are you aware of your husband ever prescribing

for any of your patients?

No. Why would he do that?

Do you know how he could've accessed

details of patients from the Guelder Clinic

who were struggling to remain abstinent?

Is that what she says he's been doing?

Did she also tell you she used to date my husband?

No. No, we weren't aware of that.

Sorry, how long ago was this?

It was years ago, right before Rob met me.

Lucinda was devastated when he broke up with her.

And soon after, we met and got married,

but she never got over it.

And she has been obsessed with him ever since.

Honestly, I wouldn't trust a word she says.

Right. So, this relationship. Mmm?

How long was it?

I don't know.

If you could just give us the exact dates,

that'd be really helpful.

SHE SCOFFS

Anything. God, I don't know.

A few months maybe? A few months. OK.

I'm sorry, I can't believe you're making me go over this.

Rob is lying in intensive care right now.

Is this how you conduct all your investigations?

No, I'm just asking questions. Well...

Look, sorry, this is obviously a very, very difficult time for you.

Thank you. So let's leave it at that for today.

Thank you. Let me give you my card.

If you think of anything useful at all,

just please, don't hesitate to contact us.

Yes. OK, I will.

Thanks for your time.

I'll show you out.

AMBULANCE BLARING

Shh, shh, shh.

I'm not gonna hurt you.

I need you to stay alive, OK?

Cos I need you to tell the MIU

that you planted that prescription with my name on it in Edith's flat.

I know you've been working for Jubair,

prescribing for drug addicts.

I need you to help me out here. Please, just help me.

Here, here. Look, listen.

Jub... Jubair.

Jubair. I can't.

Rob, I'm gonna lose my job, OK? My family has left me.

You have completely fucked me over.

You have to tell the MIU what really happened. Please.

MONITOR BEEPING RAPIDLY

ALARM BLARING

SIREN BLARING

PHONE BLEEPS

ID and swipe card?

Thanks. Bleep?

Shit. No, I left it in the doctors' office.

I'll just go and get it.

You'll need this visitors' pass.

Just give it to me when you come back.

Hey, how's it going? Hiya.

If you just input it,

then if you do add them, then it'll come up.

All right. Morning, you two.

So, we got a new locum registrar joining the team today,

Dr Sandeep Khan.

He's very experienced,

but I'd like you to keep an eye on him, make him feel at home, OK?

What about Lucinda?

She's been suspended.

Do you know why?

All I know is that there's been a development

in the MIU investigation.

Yes, and we shouldn't discuss this with anyone outside...

Don't mind me.

Came to pick up some things.

My bleep.

Lucinda, we've just heard. I'm so sorry.

Was it you?

Was what me?

Shopping me to social services wasn't enough, so.

That was Tom's decision, not mine. Like fuck it was.

He called me.

He's worried about you.

As we all are, Lucinda.

Oh, fuck, it was you. No, no, no.

It was you. I don't know what you mean.

You told them that bullshit lie about me stealing diazepam.

No, no. I didn't. Just calm down, Lucinda.

This is really unprofessional. Really unprofessional, I'm so sorry.

I will not calm down.

What the fuck is your problem, Ramya?

You are my problem!

You're always blaming me, but if you've been suspended,

it's for something that you've done, not something that I've said.

So you did say something. I haven't done anything wrong.

What's your problem with me? Why do you hate me so much?

It was me.

Yeah, I told the MIU about the diazepam, it wasn't Ramya.

What?

Yeah, I've been...

...auditing waste drugs on A&E, and...

..I noticed a discrepancy

with the diazepam that you prescribed,

and then your daughter came in, and...

Sorry, I couldn't stand by and say nothing.

Honestly, I thought that they were gonna offer you help.

I didn't think they would suspend you.

Wow.

Well, one of us should go after her.

Let her cool down, and I'll catch up with her in a minute.

Well, I'm glad she's been suspended.

I'm tired of being blamed for everything all the time.

Don't worry, Oscar. You did the right thing.

You think so? Yeah.

She'll realise that once she's calmed down.

What the hell do you think you're doing?

I wanna work for you, in Rob's place.

Why do you think I would let you do that?

Rob had a lot of clients,

and I'm assuming that you don't wanna lose their trade.

You may think you know all my secrets,

but I also know all yours.

So if you wanna keep me quiet, I want something in return.

Go on.

Diazepam. As much and often as I want.

OK.

Let's put you on a month's trial.

But if I get any trouble from you... You won't.

OK.

So, tell me how it works.

We'll get you a phone.

OK. So, patients contact me that way?

Yep. Then you write them out a prescription.

Then they'll take it to one of my pharmacies to fill in.

OK. And how do I get paid?

Cash. End of the month.

We'll give you a reduced rate till you prove yourself.

MONITOR BEEPING RAPIDLY

SHOUTING, ALARM BLARING

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