Trauma on BritBox via Prime Video

Trauma on BritBox via Prime Video is a three-part drama set in the trauma unit of a London hospital, a grieving father blames a high-achieving trauma consultant for the death of his teenage son.

Dan, played by John Simm, is a factory worker struggling to make ends meet and put food on the table for his wife Susie and their three children.

On the very same day that his boss calls him in to tell him he’s being let go, his 15-year-old son Alex is stabbed in the stomach.

In hospital, respected surgeon Jon Allerton (Adrian Lester) tries to save his life, but Alex dies in the operating theatre.

Dan, having somehow made his way into the room, is present the moment Alex slips away and sees panic in Jon’s eyes. He immediately blames the surgeon for his son’s death.

From this moment on, Dan’s sole purpose in life is to make Jon admit responsibility for the tragedy.

Strangely, he seems to have absolutely no interest in finding who actually pushed the knife into his son, and instead wants to exact revenge on the man who failed to save him.

Once Dan discovers that Jon had been drinking before the procedure, he cannot let this go.

At the funeral, which he forces Jon to come to, Dan loses control and begins to attack him, screaming: “Admit it!”

Neither of the male leads are especially likeable: Jon is too uptight, too earnest, while Dan (although we’ll excuse him because he’s grieving) is a piece of work with erratic tendencies.

Despite this difficulty to muster empathy for the characters and the occasional ridiculousness of it – Dan wouldn’t have been able to saunter into the operating theatre like that – it’s a very entertaining watch and well worth seeing through to the end, with the next two episodes airing tomorrow and Wednesday.

What adds a rich extra dimension to Trauma is the theme of class war.

Dan has got a real chip on his shoulder about his working class roots, compared with Jon’s relative wealth.

To him, the injustice of losing Alex has fallen on his family because of their place in society.

Trauma on BritBox Episodes

Trauma on BritBox Episode 1

The lives of two very different fathers, Dan and Jon, collide when Dan’s teenage son Alex is stabbed and dies while under the care of trauma department hospital consultant Jon.

Trauma on BritBox Episode 2

Jon submits a series of formal complaints against Dan regarding his behaviour prompting the coffee shop at the hospital to dismiss Dan.

Dan and Susie’s relationship hits the rocks as Dan’s obsession grows.

Trauma on BritBox Episode 3

Having been failed by the authorities, Dan takes matters into his own hands to get to the truth.

Watch Trauma on BritBox via Prime Video >>