Why the BBC is spending a day in hospital at Royal Free London NHS trust

Scarcely a day goes by without the NHS being in the news – even more so during the winter. Today, new numbers from NHS England will reveal how the system coped during the peak of winter pressures.

We will learn how many patients were stuck on trolleys or chairs in A&E for more than 12 hours, waiting for a hospital bed. There will be stats on the number of people waiting for more than two months to start cancer treatment and more on the nearly 7.5 million waiting for planned treatment.

But finding out what this really means for patients and staff is not always easy, as access to busy hospitals is hard to come by.

That’s why BBC News has decided to cover the latest updates on how the NHS in England is performing at one hospital trust – the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust.

From early in the day, until late evening, we will talk live to staff and watch the flow of patients from arrival to discharge.

We will monitor the situation in the emergency department, see the cancer care, and hear about complex surgery and high-end research.

Difficulties discharging patients who are medically fit because of social and community care issues will be all too clear. Across TV, radio and online outlets we will follow the activity through the day and shine a light on corners of a busy hospital that are rarely seen.

The trust covers the health treatment needs of a significant chunk of north London. Its main centre – the Royal Free Hospital itself – is a major teaching and research hospital dating back nearly 200 years. It is the second biggest provider of cancer services in the UK.

The trust also includes Chase Farm hospital, which focusses on planned surgery – such as orthopaedics and ear, nose and throat. Also in the group is Barnet hospital with a busy emergency department and North Middlesex which runs community and hospital services.

The trust spans a wide urban geographical area in both economically challenged and wealthier neighbourhoods. It could be seen as a microcosm of the wider NHS -though London hospitals work closely together and are better resourced than some others.

Trust leaders know what to expect when TV crews and reporters spend time on site and press officers are available to accompany broadcast teams. It is where the Hospital documentary series is filmed.

Senior management say they are opening their doors to be transparent and to reassure local communities they are striving for the best possible standard of care.

They want people to know they are always busy and to understand how there might be alternatives to going to hospital. Staff, we are told, appreciate media coverage of their daily challenges and frustrations.

BBC News will retain editorial control and aim to show things as they are: the shortcomings as well as positives.

The trust has already allowed us to see a wide range of activity, but there is no free rein to visit everywhere. We have had access to the emergency department, though this was limited at times when staff were under more strain.

Care was taken to ensure no member of staff or patient who did not want to be filmed would be shown. Patients were asked by the hospital PR team and BBC reporters whether they were happy to be on camera and give interviews. Written consent was sought by the trust.

On recent visits we have heard from staff who are highly committed to their work, though sometimes frustrated at the pressures and resources available. We have witnessed complex operations and seen state-of-the-art diagnostic equipment.

We have seen the constant stream of patients coming into the hospital and the struggle to find beds – hospitals, in effect, a safety net for care shortcomings elsewhere.

A day in a hospital is a snapshot of the lives of those who work there, as well as patients who depend on the services offered when they are at their most vulnerable.