Last week's episodes of Emergency Ward 10 seem to no longer exist, so we pick up this week with Rex Lane-Russell dealing with the tetanus-stricken Mr Hutton, whose stiffness he manages to relieve a bit.
Genial, pipe-smoking old Dr Rospin (Jack Melford) is interrupted in his morning cup of disgusting hospital coffee by the anxious Dr Grant. Grant's worried about Leon Dorsey, whose mysterious condition seems to be getting worse (last week he fainted during surgery), but who refuses to be examined. Dorsey thinks it's just mild labyrinthine vertigo (pronounced to rhyme with impetigo), but Rospin thinks it sounds like something far worse. Rospin agrees to have a word with Dorsey, but doubts he'll do much good.
As Grant bustles off, Rospin wonders to Andrew Shaw (John Line) how much of Grant's concern is to do with having his eye on Dorsey's position as chair of the medical board.
Mr Price, who's recently been operated on, obviously has something troubling him. But he won't talk to anyone about it.
Jane Beattie and an uncredited, non-speaking nurse, are called to the presence of scary Sister Ransome, who unsettles them with a warning about studying hard for their upcoming exams.
Rex administers another injection to Mr Hutton. I wonder how many viewers tuned in especially for these little glimpses of nudity. Quite possibly none.
Louise Mahler, who seems to be wearing a new wig, has a chat with Shaw about her eventual return to Africa. She tells him she plans to go back in a couple of years once she's got a bit more experience. He envies her going somewhere that she can make a real difference, and is feeling a similar call himself.
Sister Ransome receives a phone call from Mrs Price, who informs her that Jane sent her away without getting to see her husband the day before. The hapless nurse is called in for a comprehensive ticking off, and told that she can't let her emotional problems get in the way of her work.
Mr Hutton's been moved to a side ward, but the loud noise caused by a nurse dropping a tray outside causes him to spasm. Emergency treatment is required.
Nurse Sandy Maclean (Jan Carey) is told to make herself scarce while Mr Hutton's being seen to, and heads for the kitchen area, where she makes herself what appears to be a ketchup sandwich. She and Jane have a heart-to-heart about Jane's mooning over Rex. Jane makes her mind up that she's over him and the pair decide on a night out at the pictures (Sandy enthuses that they'll be "a female stag party", which rather makes one wonder what sort of film they intend to see).
Incidental music of any kind is rare in Emergency Ward 10, so it's curious that the procedure Dr Rospin carries out on Mr Hutton (with practically the whole cast crowded into the room) is accompanied by a bizarre, unsettling piece of electronic music (it's "Anaesthesia", by Eric Siday, and it had previously been used to great effect in the Doctor Who episode The Edge of Destruction). I love the fact that Dr Rospin performs this life-saving procedure clad in a cardie.
Mrs Price (Ruth Porcher) finally gets to see her husband. Turns out that it's their 10th wedding anniversary, and he's had a brand new washing machine plumbed in for her. But there's a problem: as the union convenor at his workplace, he'd collected the money from the men for a forthcoming trip, and, as he knew he had a bonus coming, used the money to buy the washing machine. But as he's been in hospital he's not had a chance to put it back. He asks his wife to do so, but she's already given the cash tin it was supposed to be in to his colleague Mr Dewhurst. Mr Price fears there could be terrible consequences.
Grant receives a visit from Leon Dorsey,who's livid that Grant has been on to his wife to get him to come in for a check-up. Grant confronts Dorsey with just how bad his symptoms are.
Sandy and Jane go for a drink on their way to the pictures and bump into Michaela Davis, who's busy studying. They talk her into joining them, but then Rex walks in and Jane's resolution to forget about him goes out the window...
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