Airdate: Outback ER

How many more medico observationals can TV accommodate?

That’s the question for ABC with its new series Outback ER beginning early next month.

The 8 part series, produced by Screentime, follows the emergency teams from Broken Hill Base Hospital Emergency Department, the Ambulance Service of NSW, and the Royal Flying Doctor Service and how a life-threatening crisis can be in one of the most isolated locations on earth.

From snakebites and amputations, to farm accidents and heart attacks, every admission brings a new challenge. Witnessing real human drama and meeting some extraordinary characters, Outback ER offers an intimate and moving insight into the diverse population of Broken Hill, and the realities of life and death in the Australian outback.

This unforgiving desert landscape breeds a population of no nonsense locals who live hard and play hard – some will even wait days before getting a broken bone treated. Remoteness, lack of resources and staff recruitment are all major challenges at the Broken Hill Base Hospital. It definitely takes a special kind of medical team to work in a place like this.

Thursday 12 February at 8.00pm on ABC.