Ambulance

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Simulcast of network BBC One in high definition. From 03/11/2010

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BBC One Cambridgeshire

Documentaries

Factual: Health & Wellbeing

Documentary series taking a detailed look at ambulance services.

Life and death decisions on the frontline. From control rooms to the crews on the street, meet the people making sure every second counts.

Series 8

Christopher Eccleston

Simon Ford

Peter Wallis-Tayler

Andrew Dedman

Becky Houlihan

Billie Hussein

Dragonfly Film and Television

Ambulance: Series 8: Episode 5

Episode 5

BBC One - Ambulance, Series 8, Episode 5

A call for a patient threatening to walk into the sea in Blackpool takes priority.

On a busy night shift in Lancashire, a call for a patient threatening to take his life by walking into the sea in Blackpool takes priority for the North West Ambulance Service.

It's another night shift for ambulance crews in Lancashire, and 999 calls are coming in at a rate of one every 15 seconds. A call concerning a 100-year-old patient causes concern for crewmates Holly and Isaac. They can see that the patient is lying on the floor, but they can’t get in and will have to wait for the fire brigade to come and gain entry to the house. Once inside, they learn that all isn’t as it first seemed.
 
Meanwhile, a patient who has been found slumped on a front doorstep is the next call for crewmates Anne and Matt. The patient is an alcoholic and homeless. As the crew get to know the patient, they find that he has no family or friends, and his plight is impacting his mental health. It’s a job that resonates for Anne, who is candid about her own struggles with mental health. 
 
In Blackpool, a call regarding a patient who is threatening to walk into the sea in order to kill himself becomes the next priority for the service. It is a job suited for Blackpool’s specialist mental health triage car, staffed tonight by mental health nurse Vicky and paramedic Andy. They arrive to find that police officers have successfully prevented the man from walking into the sea. He has been receiving messages over social media from people who claim to be his friends but have encouraged him to take his life. It falls to Vicky to try to comfort him and find him a bed for the night. 
 
Monday is the first day back at school for thousands of children across the region after months of lockdown. Nutan and Carole are dispatched to a patient who is experiencing chest pain. As they transfer the patient to hospital for further assessment, their conversation about lockdown takes an unexpected turn. It transpires that the patient has been locked in for much longer than the paramedics understood.  
 
As the busy day shift continues to prove a challenge for the service, a call for a patient who has been waiting two hours for an ambulance takes priority for Anne and Matt. The patient is found cold on the floor, and the crew spend time caring for her, including washing her feet. The patient is adamant that if she goes to hospital, she may not come out again alive. After some gentle persuasion, she agrees to go with the crew, but en route she takes a sudden and unexpected turn for the worst. It becomes clear on arrival at the hospital that it will fall to Anne to make a difficult call to her family.

Ambulance: Series 8

BBC One

Documentary series following crews from a regional ambulance service.

Cameras focus on a new cast of characters drawn from the staff of North West Ambulance Service as they care for the people of Lancashire and Cumbria in the wake of Covid-19.

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Ambulance

Series 8

Episode 5

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