Wakefield to Weatherfield, Regional Burns Unit Charge Nurse offers expert advice on the cobbles | News

Paul Blakemore, Charge Nurse at the Regional Burns Unit Pinderfields Hospital has been working with crew on the cobbles to share his expert knowledge of burn wounds and their treatment to portray a recent devastating storyline on Coronation Street as realistically as possible.

If you caught the episode which aired on Wednesday 19 April, you would know that character Ryan was left with severe burns after Justin threw acid at him, while his intended target was Daisy. Ryan tells the surgeon he’s ready to look at his injuries and we all see his life-long scars for the first time.

As well as helping make-up artists ensure the prosthetics used were as life-like as possible, Paul advised the set crew on the hospital environment, script writers on medical terminology and the dialogue between clinicians and patients, he spoke to Ryan Prescott who plays fictional Ryan about the physical and emotional impact of the injury and he also altered props to ensure they displayed the expected observations such as heart rate and blood pressure for a patient like Ryan, to make sure everything was as accurate as it could be.

Read a blog post from Paul about his experience:

Having been involved with a prior burn injury on Coronation Street when a character sustained electrical burns to his hands and needed them bandaging correctly, I was asked to be involved again but this time it involved a character sustaining burns during an acid attack. 

I was contacted by Gillian Walsh, head of hair and makeup design on Coronation Street and worked closely with her on the whole look of the burn from initial injury through to skin grafting and thereafter. This involved sourcing photographs of acid burns and skin grafts of an appropriate age then Gillian coordinated with Davy Jones and Becky Scott at Makeupsfx.com who created prosthetics for Ryan Prescott the actor to wear.

Whilst I was on set at the studios, I advised on the colour tones of the burns with the purpose to make them look as authentic as possible. I applied dressings to the burn areas which had to be replicated precisely each day for continuity (not something I was used to on our Burns Unit) and also sited IV cannulas with the same attention to continuity. It was important to have the hospital bed area be as realistic as possible which included elevating the injured arm on pillows, having call light and water glass close to hand. Having staff be bare below the elbows. Things that should be routine in a true hospital setting. The cardiac monitoring/obs reflect how ill an individual is and I was able to adjust simulators to show this. These seem small things, but they are noticeable on the screen especially to viewers with medical/nurse training. (It is amazing how realistic Yorkshire tea can look in a catheter bag if someone is dehydrated).

 The directors were very appreciative of any suggestions to enhance the look of the bed area or physicality of the actor and asked advice which I was happy to give. 

 I was asked by researchers for authenticity and accuracy of scripts also, particularly of the narrative between members of the medical team and Ryan the acid attack survivor. For example, explaining about the need for skin grafting. 

 A very proud moment was when I was asked to attend a meet and greet by HRH Princess Anne who is patron to The Acid Survivors Trust International (A.S.T.I.). She had many questions about my regular work and the work I was doing at the studio. 

The whole experience has been fantastic. I set out to help with not knowing quite what to expect or what was expected of me. The key word is authenticity. I hoped to help make an authentic representation of the appearance and care of a burn injured person. By working so closely with Gillian, her amazing team and Ryan Prescott who certainly did his homework regarding acid burns, I feel I have done this.