This article contains spoilers for Breathtaking episode 2, "Delay". Breathtaking is an ITV medical drama based on the book by palliative care doctor, Rachel Clarke. The three-part series recounts the experience of working through the UK's COVID-19 pandemic, as seen through the eyes of an acute medicine consultant, Dr. Abbey Henderson (played by Joanne Froggatt) who works at a fictional hospital.
Breathtaking's second episode shows how the pandemic worsened in the early days following the UK lockdown. Due to sickness, staffing hospitals is becoming a bigger problem, and the episode touches on this plus the mental toll that the working on the frontline took on NHS workers along with the issues with discharging patients to care homes without confirmed negative COVID tests. Here's a full recap of Breathtaking's second episode.
Staffing shortages
Episode two opens with Abbey heading off to work, trying (and failing) to find extra help from staffing banks. On April 2 (the 11th day into the UK's first lockdown), she heads into the hospital and is pleased to see Ant back at work, though he says he still feels very tired. She also thanks Emma for her continuing efforts, but their chat is soon interrupted when a patient goes into cardiac arrest.
Ant wants to immediately start compressions but Abbey stops him as they have to put on the relevant PPE before acting. Once they're properly equipped, they begin compressions, but Ant says they've "wasted too much time". Outside, Abbey, Ant and Emma prepare to go around the ward and check on more patients, beginning with Mr. Williams.
Emma tells them how he's been; he had been recovering, but he tested positive for COVID seven days ago, and he has deteriorated since. Abbey tells him they need to explore further treatment to support his breathing, recommending CPAP. It's a mask that pushes air into the lungs. Archie asks if the treatment will hurt, and when Abbey describes it as claustrophobic, he asks what happens if he refuses the treatment. Abbey tells him, honestly, that she's not sure he can survive this without CPAP.
Archie asks Emma to open his phone to a photo of his wife. Archie tells the story of how he and Florence met (in an orchestra). Abbey asks if he will give the treatment a go, and if that proves too much, then they can discuss next steps. Afterwards, Abbey asks Emma to contact Florence to discuss Archie's condition.
Archie's fitted with the breathing apparatus. Another patient, Sally, who was receiving treatment for breast cancer (and caught COVID in the hospital) happens to walk past as this is taking place, and asks to see Abbey to see whether that will happen to her, too. Abbey reassures her that she's doing well and that no-one's giving up on her; before she leaves, Abbey promises to chase the results of her latest scan.
Later, Abbey checks into a temporary facility where she's staying for the next nine days. On the phone with her family, her son Tom blasts her for making the decision to stay at work instead of coming home. Tom further chastises her for the fact that Abbey can't promise she won't die whilst continuing to work as a doctor.
Back at the hospital on April 13, Divina's condition worsens. Dr Metin Ozkul has a team of doctors help "prone" her (turning her on her front to aid breathing). Unfortunately, Divina's condition doesn't improve. Abbey, Dr. Ozkul, and nurse Jules call Divina's husband, Enrico. They tell him that they've run out of things to try, and explain that its time to move from trying active treatments to end-of-life care. They further explain that he cannot come and visit, but that his wife won't be alone, with Jules promising to take the best care of him she can.
A major disagreement
Outside, Abbey comes across Emma having a disagreement with another doctor over patients being discharged to care homes. Dicharge planners have been told that medically fit patients with a care home bed are to be sent to their care homes and they're not allowed to wait for test results. Emma has concerns about sending someone homes as they've had two confirmed cases in the hospital that day, and she worries they could be sending COVID back to the care home with him.
Abbey steps in. Because there's no new suspicion of the patient having COVID themselves, and the national guidance says don't wait for negative results, Abbey says the patient has to go home. This sequence is followed by a clip of PM Boris Johnson explaining just how important testing is in the fight with the virus.
We cut back to Abbey, who goes to wake Sally up in the night. She tells Sally that her scan came back clear; there's no sign of cancer, and she says they can hope for the best. After delivering the good news, Abbey is suited up in fresh PPE and then joins Jules and Metin in Divina's room. Metin leaves and asks to talk later, then Jules begins switching off the support machines Divina was connected to. The nurse then reads some final thoughts from her family, friends and colleagues in her final moments. A clip from a COVID briefing about NHS worker deaths then plays out, intercut with footage of care workers watching as Divina is taken away from the hospital.
When she returns on April 4, Abbey shares the news of Divina's passing with the staff and that some counselling is being arranged for anyone who would like it. The trust is due to provide extra ward cover, so they can take some time if they need. Tracey says she's going to do what Divina would have done: carry on caring for her patients, and the doctors head back out into the hospital.
April 9, 2020, and Abbey is entering a hospital ward where a patient's daughter is claiming they have killed her father. She explains that someone was sent to his care home with COVID, and Ant says he was admitted the night before from Pennyfield House; they had recently discharged a cold zone patient back to the home. He is the 11th resident to get it, and seven people have died from COVID in that home.
Afterwards, Ant, furiously tells Abbey that the woman was right, that they're literally killing people with their discharge decisions. Abbey tells him she's going to see the CEO about it; he doesn't believe her, so she says they'll both see her, right now. Unfortunately, this conversation doesn't go anywhere.
Abbey tells the CEO they must delay further discharges until they have negative COVID tests. The CEO claims they haven't demonstrated a causal link between the discharges and the new cases from care homes and says she cannot shut down discharges on this scale.
The CEO explains the Department of Health has ordered each NHS trust to remove 15,000 from their hospital beds right now, without negative tests. She says these aren't her rules, suggests residents could be isolated back in their care homes (which Ant rebuffs), and finishes by telling Ant and Abbey to just go and do their job.
A moving moment
Following their confrontation, Abbey and Ant share a moment in the lift. Ant apologises for his attitude earlier, revealing that his father was admitted to hospital last week with COVID. He questions whether the people up top even have a plan for tackling the pandemic... and asks if Abbey has prepared a will for herself or not.
Later, Abbey checks in with her family again briefly, before heading to a funeral service for Divina. The service is being streamed to the hospital from a church. Staff are socially distanced and listen to Enrico delivering a speech praising Divina for everything she has done and how she has helped people.
Later, Tracey does Sally's make-up and takes her out of the hospital in a wheelchair as medical staff claps as she's discharged. Elsewhere, Emma reaches out to Florene, Archie's wife, and explains that he's decided to stop CPAP treatment. As Emma explains, without it, Archie's lungs can't keep going. Even with it, she's unsure whether it will work.
Emma offers Florence the chance to visit her husband, now that it's an end-of-life situation (which is now allowed). Florence, however, is unsure whether she can, as she's living with rheumatoid arthritis, and is on immunosuppression, meaning she's at a higher risk.
Abbey watches as Ant heads into Archie's room. He takes out a violin and begins to play for him, to offer Archie some comfort. After he stops playing, Archie reaches out a hand to Ant; he takes hold of it for a moment and holds it before leaving to see another patient.
Outside, Abbey is leaving the hospital to grab a shower before heading straight back in. She crosses paths with Emma and Abbey tells her that Emma's doing really well so far. She also tells Emma she was right about that patient being sent back to the care home, something Emma feels guilty about.
Inside, Ant is seen having breathing difficulties in a hospital stairwell. Abbey, in her room, tries to get hold of her husband but can't. Jules is seen taking part in a group counselling session, revealing just how hard she's finding continuing to work through the pandemic.
Breathtaking is now streaming on ITVX.
