The Hospital showing

The HospitalThe Hospital, showing Tuesday April 21st on Channel 4 at 9:00pmToday's teenagers are drinking too much, having children too young and getting so fat that some commentators have predicted they will have a lower life expectancy than their parents' generation. This three-part series examines the relationship between teenagers and the NHS. Consultants, surgeons, nurses, midwives and other staff at every level speak with unprecedented candour about the problems they face. From young women who would like a gastric band operation as a quick fix to their obesity, to the steady stream of patients arriving at A&E requiring treatment as a result of alcohol-fuelled fights and drink-driving accidents, is the NHS being asked to pick up the pieces of an increasingly self-destructive society? And if young people don't take responsibility for their own health, can the NHS afford to maintain its founding principle: free healthcare at the point of delivery?The final episode in the series looks at the cost of Britain's increasingly obese teens. At Heartlands Hospital in Birmingham, younger and younger patients are being referred for help in tackling their weight and, increasingly, they are asking for a gastric band.