Coma. Part 1, Locked in.

In 1996 Joanne, a medical student at Edinburgh University, experienced a seizure following an illness and lapsed into a coma, awake but apparently unaware. However, her parents worried that she was, in fact, aware but unable to communicate. After 6 years in a rehabilitation centre the decision was made to transfer Joanne to the Royal Hospital for Neuro-Disability, Putney, for 3 months during which she would undergo tests to establish her level of awareness. The doctors' case conference is shown, as well as part of the SMART test to assess the patient's level of awareness. There are scenes from Joanne's psychology assessment and from her music therapy and encounter with the speech and language therapist. At the end of the 3 months the doctors report their findings: that there has been no scientific demonstration that Joanne is sufficiently aware to be able to communicate. Her parents disagree and show how she shuts her eyes when her face is about to be sprayed. The doctors agree that this is a response but they do not think that Joanne is capable of cognitive processes. The outcome is undecided - she is probably neither fully locked in nor fully aware.