Ambulance

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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 10

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Christopher Eccleston

Simon Ford

Peter Wallis-Tayler

James Robinson

Becky Houlihan

Vicky Munro

Dragonfly Film and Television

Ambulance: Series 10: Episode 3

Episode 3

BBC One - Ambulance, Series 10, Episode 3

Staff shortages and a rise in 999 calls stretch the ambulance service to its limits.

Staff shortages and a rise in 999 calls stretch the North East Ambulance Service to its limits, meaning only the most critical patients will get an ambulance.

As the weekend begins, crews across Teesside are gearing up for a busy day shift which will see football fans descend on Middlesbrough’s Riverside Stadium to support the local team as they take on Luton Town in the Championship.  
 
In Redcar, crewmates Jonny and Sandy are dispatched to an emergency call for an 85-year-old man who has collapsed and cut his leg. Peter and Alex attend to a 56-year-old woman with ongoing chest pain. In the back of the ambulance, she reveals that she has worked in healthcare for 25 years - a record that is outdone by Peter, who reveals he is soon to retire after 42 years in the service.  
 
Eight hours into the shift, the service is being stretched to its limits. Delays for category-2 emergencies are now five times longer than the target response time. To help reduce pressure on the service, a ‘no send’ policy is implemented, which means only the most critical patients will get an ambulance. Dispatch officer Tom explains that they are struggling due to funding cuts in the NHS.
 
The Sunday morning day shift kicks off with a busy start for the dispatchers in control as they receive four category-1 calls requiring an urgent ambulance. Jonny and Sandy are dispatched to an emergency call for a male patient who has come off his motorbike at 50 miles per hour. A 93-year-old female patient in Stockton is struggling with shortness of breath, but when Peter and Alex arrive at the scene, the patient is anxious about going into hospital for fear of being put into a care home. She expresses her love for her local community - to which she appears to be the lynchpin - and who have all rallied round to take care of her.
 
Nine hours into the shift, an emergency call comes in for a 12-year-old boy who has been pushed into the River Tees. With the service under immense pressure and no crews available in the immediate area, Paul and Abid race to the scene, but it is a 15-minute journey to the patient.

Ambulance: Series 10

BBC One

Documentary series following the North East Ambulance Service.

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Ambulance

Series 10

Episode 3

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