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The University Hospital of Wales’s cardiology department serves a population of nearly 1.5 million. And it comes down to a team of just five consultant cardiac surgeons to juggle a waiting list of almost 90 patients, on top of the never-ending wave of emergency cases.

Today, surgeon Dheeraj Mehta’s priority is 65-year-old retired railway worker Malcolm. Suffering with agonising chest pain, Malcolm took a taxi to the Emergency Unit, unaware he was having a severe heart attack. Extensive tests revealed serious damage to Malcolm’s heart, and his only option is high-risk surgery that he has only a 40 per cent chance of surviving. The operation will take at least ten hours and require Dheeraj and his team to stop Malcolm’s heart while they replace a valve as well as perform five bypasses – the maximum they can do - to divert blood around his diseased arteries. It will be an agonising wait for Malcolm’s wife and family while he is in theatre, but Dheeraj is determined to do all he can to give Malcolm hope of a future.

In ophthalmology, 29-year-old Adam is about to have his 11th operation in three years. Adam fell victim to a devastating, unprovoked attack and the assault left him with catastrophic brain injuries and needing to learn to walk again. His eyesight was also badly damaged and he’s hoping this final surgery will restore his sight. Unable to return to his job as an electrician due to his restricted sight, Adam now volunteers on the neurosurgery ward where he spent several months as a patient. Carrying out the procedure is clinical lead, consultant ophthalmologist Magdalena Popiela. She joined the team in Cardiff just over a year ago and has inherited one of the longest waiting lists in the hospital. Nearly 2,000 patients are awaiting an eye procedure, almost half, like Adam, waiting over two years for life-changing cataract surgery.

And, in the Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospital for Wales - the only dedicated children’s hospital in the country - consultant paediatric gastrointestinal surgeon Oliver Jackson faces a battle. Amidst a packed theatre day, a top priority for him is 17-week-old Jasmine, who has been waiting a third of her short life for bowel surgery. Jasmine is the smallest of triplets and was born prematurely, weighing just 600g. She’s spent her entire life in hospital. This final operation would mean she can finally return home and be reunited with her sisters. But the nursing team are struggling to find a high-dependency bed for baby Jasmine, and without one, the operation won’t go ahead. Oliver lays out in no uncertain terms how high the risks are if Jasmine’s surgery is delayed any further. As the hours tick by, the senior nurses do everything in their power to find a solution, but with the stark reality of 'no beds in Britain' that day, the odds are stacked against them.