Coronation Street writers who created a storyline involving a character in a coma consulted with neurosurgeons from the Walton Centre to ensure symptoms of a brain injury were as accurate as possible.
Producers from the show contacted senior Neurosurgeon, Paul May, a self-confessed fan, to help with the accuracy of the story when Nick Tilsley sustained a brain injury after a major car crash.
Dr May said: “It was very important to portray this story accurately and I felt it was both my responsibility and The Walton Centre’s to make sure that it was realistic and truthful to educate the public about the significant distress and long term damage that a head injury can cause.”
To ensure the character showed the audience a realistic portrayal, Dr May was crucial in describing the nature and effects of a serious head injury to writers and researchers.
Furthermore, he consulted with makeup artists and set designers to ensure all aspects of the show could be as realistic as possible.
The long-running show has accurately used characters with various health related problems over the years which have helped to raise public awareness of illnesses.
A spokesperson for the Department of Health said: “We do often receive calls from television organisations to ensure that they can achieve factual accuracy.”
The Cobbles producers were also aided by Sarah Green, a Serious Brain Injury Solicitor at Fletchers in Southport and Preston, who helped contributed to the script and storyline.
“Due to my brain injury specialism and knowledge of the effects of brain injury and local neuro rehabilitation provision in the North West, Paul approached me to assist the script writers,” said Dr Green.
“I helped with the post-discharge storyline and in particular the social and emotional effects on both the individual and family members following a serious brain injury.”
Image courtesy of Entertainment News via YouTube, with thanks.
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