The men's surgical ward of the Haven Hospital is staffed by an energetic nursing team under the watchful eye of Matron. Their duty time is taken up not only with nursing, but in an attempt to control the riotous "shower" of patients who are always up to some prank or other. They also have to contend with the amorous advances of the patients!
Some of the men involved in a series of hilarious antics are Oliver Reckitt, a young student of nuclear physics; Battling Bernie Bishop, a light-middleweight professional boxer with a fractured wrist; Bert Able, a labourer with eleven children; Henry Bray, who works in the city and is a transparent snob; Alec Lawrence, a dour soul; Percy Hickson, a cockney building worker with a smashed leg; and Ted York, a local newspaper reporter. Next to him is John Gray, a mild-mannered middle-aged man and Jack Bell, a dashing and jaunty bachelor. The bed to his right is occupied by Hinton, who clearly regards his stay in hospital as a golden opportunity to catch up on his radio listening. In a private room is the Colonel, a sardonic man with a twinkle in his eye and a love for a flutter on the horses - which he indulges with the aid of Mick, the male nursing orderly.
Some semblance of law and order in the ward is restored twice daily, once when Matron does her morning round and again in the evening when patients are visited by their wives and girlfriends. On one occasion champagne is brought by a visitor and it is shared amongst the patients. In their slightly tipsy state they decide to operate on Jack Bell's bunion - with hilarious, if rather drastic, results.
As always in a hospital where there are attractive nurses an element of romancecreeps into the daily pattern, and the Haven Hospital is no exception when Ted Yourk falls hard for a staff nurse, Dorothy.