Ambulance

BBC One London

London

BBC One Cambridgeshire

BBC One North West

Formerly part of a wider BBC One South East region that included London and part of the South region. Separated from BBC One London 2001-09-03 following reorganisation of the South East region.

BBC One South East

The BBC North East & Cumbria region started in 1959 (tbc) as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One North East & Cumbria.

BBC One North East & Cumbria

The BBC South West region started on 20th April 1961 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One South West.

BBC One South West

Formerly part of a wider BBC One South East region. Separated as BBC One London 2001-09-03 following reorganisation of the South East region.

BBC One London HD

BBC One Yorks & Lincs HD

BBC One North East & Cumbria HD

The BBC West region started on 1st September 1957 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One West.

BBC One West

BBC One Yorkshire HD

BBC One Oxfordshire HD

BBC One North West HD

BBC One West Midlands

BBC One Wales

Wales

The BBC South region started on 5th January 1961 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One South.

BBC One South

BBC One South East HD

The BBC East region started on 1st May 1959 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One East.

BBC One East HD

BBC One Channel Islands

BBC One East

BBC One region covering Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire.

BBC One East Midlands

BBC One Yorkshire

BBC One West HD

Simulcast of BBC One Scotland in high definition. From 14/01/2013

BBC One Scotland HD

BBC One Oxfordshire

BBC One West Midlands HD

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

BBC One HD

Simulcast of BBC One Northern Ireland in high definition. From 24/10/2012

BBC One Northern Ireland HD

BBC One East Midlands HD

BBC Northern Ireland region started on 19th April 1955 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One Northern Ireland.

BBC One Northern Ireland

BBC One Channel Islands HD

BBC One Cambridgeshire HD

Simulcast of BBC One Wales in high definition. From 29/01/2013

BBC One Wales HD

BBC One South HD

BBC One Scotland

Scotland

BBC One South West HD

Editorial

BBC One Yorks & Lincs

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 9

BBC Two

BBC Two England

England

Simulcast of network BBC Two in high definition.

BBC Two HD

Until 03/01/2009 BBC Two Wales (analogue) was known simply as BBC Two Wales. BBC Two Wales (digital) was BBC 2W. From 03/01/2009 BBC Two Wales schedules on both analogue and digital became identical

BBC Two Wales

Simulcast of BBC Two Northern Ireland in high definition

BBC Two Northern Ireland HD

Simulcast of BBC Two Wales in high definition

BBC Two Wales HD

BBC Two Northern Ireland

Christopher Eccleston

Simon Ford

Peter Wallis-Tayler

James Robinson

Becky Houlihan

Vicky Munro

Dragonfly Film and Television

Ambulance: Series 9: Episode 1

Episode 1

BBC One - Ambulance, Series 9, Episode 1

New series joins ambulance staff caring for the 2.7 million people of the North East.

A crew from the North East Ambulance Service attends to a family who arrived in the UK just 17 days earlier as refugees from Iraq.

The Bafta-winning series turns its attention to the North East Ambulance Service as the region struggles to bounce back after facing one of the toughest times in its history. The service covers a population of over 2.7 million.

The start of the day shift sees dispatcher Tom begin his seven-mile walk to work. He reflects on his career path from working in the mines, which have now closed, to the ambulance service. As crews start to book on for the 12-hour shift, a call comes in for a patient with chest pain. Sophie and Jack are immediately dispatched, and they find that the patient and his family are refugees from Iraq and arrived on UK shores by boat just 17 days ago. There is concern for both the male patient, who is suffering due to the impact of the trauma he has experienced, and also for his wife, who is seven months pregnant with twins. 
 
In control, a new call is being answered every 17 seconds. Due to this heavy demand, a no-send policy is implemented across the service, meaning only the most acute medical emergencies will now get an ambulance. Crew mates and life partners Kyle and Alex are dispatched to their first patient of the day, a woman with chest pain. The patient has been suffering with anxiety as she recently lost her mother. The case prompts Alex to contemplate how she has to cope without her close family, as she left them behind in Cyprus. 
 
The shift takes a dramatic turn when crewmates Gemma and Katie are dispatched to a road traffic collision. At the same time, multiple calls are coming in for a second traffic accident outside a school. A boy has been knocked down by a motorbike. He is unresponsive, and the crew fear his injuries could be traumatic.  
 
Meanwhile, a call is received from a social worker who is concerned about the welfare of a male patient who is unwell and hasn’t eaten for three days. Kyle and Alex find that the patient hasn’t left his bed for four years. It’s evident by the state of his living conditions that both he and his wife are struggling to cope.  
 
As the shift winds down, Sophie and Jack take the time to check in once again on the refugee family they cared for earlier in the shift. 

These are the real human stories behind the sirens.

Ambulance: Series 9

BBC One

Documentary series following ambulance crews in the north east of England.

The series follows crews from the north east as they struggles to bounce back after one of the toughest times in the service's history.

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Ambulance

Series 9

Episode 1

Contributors

Genres

Formats

Brand

Series

BBC One Yorks & Lincs

About BBC One