Five episodes where two people at different stages of their careers, meet for the first time to share and contrast their experiences of working in the health service. Revealing and surprising insights emerge as the participants compare the pressures of the past with those we hear so much about today. In this episode we hear from two ambulance paramedics. Chris, who recently retired, started in the service in the 1980s, when defibrillators weren’t even standard issue on board an ambulance. In the past he remembers getting to take a break between emergencies and crew members being able to take a quick nap on a night shift. There's little chance of that for Harrison who qualified much more recently. He says when he’s working now, he’s always on the go. He worries about the number of times he's despatched to a 999 call that turns out not to be an emergency and about being stuck in long queues of ambulances outside hospitals waiting for beds to free up. Both agree the role has significantly changed over the years and explain where the service has improved but also got worse.

Produced by Clive Hammond and Nick Holland
Editor: Clare Fordham
Sound: Graham Puddifoot
Production Coordinators Sabine Schereck and Maria Ogundele Show less