- 2 hours ago
999 On the Front Line S14E05 H 264
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:01Ambulance service, is the patient breathing?
00:04Laurie's just tipped over.
00:06I'm just in shock.
00:08The girl's followed over and cut her head open.
00:11I've had really bad chest pain.
00:14Who's screwing up to my throat?
00:16Righty-ho, let's get them bad boys on.
00:19West Midlands Ambulance Service looks after
00:22almost six million people.
00:24I love the fact that not just every shift's different,
00:27every job's different.
00:28Do you remember everything that's happened?
00:32It looks like you're having a heart attack.
00:34Saving lives and making a difference every call out.
00:38Is she breathing normally?
00:41Water variability of how we met.
00:44Embedded with eight emergency crews.
00:47Could be anything, couldn't it?
00:48Okay, okay.
00:50Filming simultaneously across the region.
00:54Time is everything in our job.
00:56Just relax, relax for me.
00:57Can you open your mouth as wide as you can?
01:01Capturing life.
01:02How's your vision?
01:03You got it?
01:04On the front line.
01:06I go to work every day and I make a difference.
01:20It's Sian on Brogan on 6.30s today, over.
01:24Received, are you good to go?
01:26We are good to go, yeah, thank you.
01:30What have you got in that massive bag?
01:32Everything.
01:33Breakfast, dinner, hairbrush, make-up.
01:36Why have you brought us all that?
01:37You never know when you need to touch it up.
01:39Once I'm done in the morning, that's it.
01:43Whatever happens, happens.
01:45Whatever melts off, yeah.
01:46Just goes.
01:47I need to touch up my nose on my break.
01:49Right.
01:50Right, let's go.
02:00What is your go to lunch?
02:02Have you ever had cucumber and tomato sauce?
02:06I don't like tomato sauce.
02:08Do you like milk?
02:09No.
02:09Do you like perinaise?
02:11No.
02:12Do you like burger sauce?
02:14No.
02:16Tuna with chopped up onion and beetroot.
02:19I love you.
02:20Banging.
02:22Beetroot makes your poo a funny colour.
02:24You know, pasta and sauce?
02:26Yeah.
02:26I'll put some in a wrap with some cheese.
02:29Honestly, try it, it's good.
02:31I think I'll pass, thank you.
02:45I think we are like swans.
02:47Is that the right one?
02:48Swans, ducks, geese.
02:50What are they?
02:50Nice and smooth on the water.
02:52Oh, yeah.
02:53But the legs are going...
02:55It's just drowning.
02:56Yeah.
02:57I think that's us.
02:57We've got a good front.
02:58And that describes a barometric.
03:00Yeah.
03:00I think it's ducks.
03:02No, swans.
03:03I think it's swans.
03:04I think it's swans.
03:05You miss one.
03:06I'll be a duck.
03:08Okay.
03:09Quack.
03:09Oh, of course.
03:12Wait, you do it.
03:13Quack.
03:16I don't know what that was.
03:18It's like the duck's been stepped on.
03:20I said the other day about, I'll get off my shoe box now.
03:24It's soap box, won't it?
03:25Yeah.
03:26Yeah.
03:26I get all my sayings wrong, honestly.
03:34999.
03:35We've got a 24-year-old female.
03:38Fitting within the last 12 hours.
03:40She's currently under investigations.
03:42The last two days are fit to get in worse.
03:46We get this call.
03:47It stated the patient was having a seizure.
03:50So you're instantly thinking, what kind of seizure is it?
03:53How long is it lasting?
03:54Are they still fitting?
03:56It's a job that we have to get to very, very quickly.
04:00Well, hopefully she doesn't have any more seizures whilst we're with her.
04:03No.
04:08Hello.
04:09Where are we going?
04:11Just into the living room.
04:12Amazing.
04:12Yeah.
04:14What's your name, lovely?
04:15Georgia.
04:16Georgia.
04:16My name's Kyra Nick.
04:18I used to be soft.
04:19Right, then.
04:19Am I right to do some observations on you whilst we have a chat?
04:23No.
04:23Sorry, can I have your arm out of this?
04:24Is that right?
04:24No, yeah.
04:2724-year-old Georgia has been having seizures that are becoming more frequent.
04:32After her third one today, Mum Lorraine called for help.
04:37Right.
04:37Her head does start to...
04:38Yeah.
04:38..and then you see her eyes doing weird things.
04:42And then it's like...
04:43And then her hands kind of crawl all up.
04:45OK.
04:46And she's kind of doing that.
04:48OK.
04:48They're getting worse.
04:49They were quite basic ones.
04:51They were quite, like, just eye flickering.
04:53OK.
04:54My hands had tense up a little bit.
04:56The last few weeks to get in pretty much every day.
04:58Like, I've smashed my head a few times.
05:00I've done it again today.
05:01I've smashed up this.
05:02I seem to go this way sort of thing when I'm falling.
05:04OK.
05:05I'm scared for my own safety.
05:07The investigations that you've had, like, are you under neurology at the minute?
05:10Oh, yeah.
05:10I saw them a few weeks ago for the first time.
05:13Which I haven't had any investigation.
05:14Well, I haven't had it.
05:14No, I'm waiting for an MRI.
05:166.1 and then 36.2.
05:18So they're all good.
05:19So all of your observations are good.
05:22I'm not concerned about any of them.
05:24But obviously I'm not the one that feels how you feel.
05:27And if this is causing you a massive amount of concern today...
05:30Oh, it's scaringly.
05:31Yeah.
05:32So we do have the option of going to A&E.
05:35More probably just you'd be there as a safe place in case it does happen again.
05:39Are you going to be here?
05:42Yeah.
05:42Yeah, I'm not going to be here.
05:43She's not going to be left alone or anything?
05:44Because that's the only concern, is if you're going to be on your own.
05:48Yeah.
05:49She's going into one.
05:51Yeah, I don't know.
05:54I'm just going to put your legs up on the sofa.
05:56You don't have that pillow.
06:00It's probably the stress of all this as well doesn't help, you know.
06:02Yeah.
06:02She's obviously really concerned about it.
06:05You're doing well.
06:06She suddenly went into another seizure.
06:09We applied oxygen and made sure she was safe,
06:11as we don't know how long this is going to last for.
06:26If you were a food, you would be chicken nuggets and chips
06:30on separate sides of the plane.
06:34You are consistent.
06:36Always know what you're getting.
06:37Yeah, you always know what you're getting.
06:39I know.
06:40That is fair.
06:42Who doesn't like chicken nuggets?
06:44I feel like there's something wrong with you if you don't like chicken nuggets.
06:47It's a safe food, and ultimately, unless you're vegetarian.
06:50Fake nuggets.
06:52What's something that has, like, a lot going on?
06:57Pad Thai.
06:58I don't know what that is.
06:59Stir fry.
07:00Because you've got a lot going on.
07:03Because you're just a bit chaotic.
07:05Do you know what's, what is, what is chaotic?
07:08Everything goes on.
07:08A bit chaotic.
07:09A lot going on at once.
07:11But, full of flavour.
07:14Full of flavour.
07:24Ambulance service, is the patient breathing?
07:26Yes.
07:27What's happened?
07:29We're at work.
07:30The girl's followed over and cut her head open.
07:33Is the patient conscious in a way?
07:35They've drifted, sort of, faintly.
07:38Have they lost any blood?
07:40Yes.
07:41Ten centimetre wooden.
07:46We are going to a 51-year-old female who has sustained a head injury.
07:52OK.
07:53She's unable to get up from the floor.
07:56She tripped and fell, hit her head off metal.
08:00OK.
08:01She has slurred speech following the head injury.
08:04Could I have a bit of a concussion then?
08:07It sounded like quite a significant head injury.
08:09I was worried about damage to the brain.
08:11It sounded quite nasty.
08:15How are you?
08:17Hello.
08:17I'm Jack.
08:18We've got Sharni with me.
08:19Hello.
08:19What have you done?
08:22Headbutted the step.
08:23Sounds like a really silly question.
08:25Is there any pain in your head?
08:28Slightly.
08:29Slightly.
08:30Were you not too unconscious at any point?
08:32No?
08:33Fully conscious throughout.
08:35Got it.
08:3751-year-old Tammy tripped over steps at work,
08:41hitting her head on some metal trim.
08:44You don't sound confused.
08:46I don't think you are.
08:48You're compass-mentous.
08:49No.
08:49You are way up.
08:50You've told me what's happened.
08:52Yeah.
08:52Perfect.
08:53Pop that on your finger for me, if that's OK.
08:56I'm going to be honest, you've won yourself a trip up to the hospital.
08:59Your head will probably need glued.
09:03You can have to have a fringe.
09:05Oh, no.
09:06Don't be daft.
09:07Have you not seen what they can do with glue these days?
09:09Can you just hold a little bit of light pressure on it there?
09:12Perfect.
09:14Your fingers are freezing.
09:16Yeah, it must have been cold.
09:17It is a bit cold.
09:18You're next to the open door, isn't it?
09:19It's actually the fact that I'm sitting before.
09:22Anywhere else hurt other than your head?
09:23My neck hurts too far.
09:25Can I have a feel of your neck?
09:30Any pain when I'm pressing?
09:32No.
09:32No.
09:33Would you mind if Sharni took a photo of your head
09:35before I give it a cleaning address?
09:38I take photos of wounds to guide hospital treatment.
09:42When I looked at her injury, I could see that it was down to her skull.
09:46It needed some serious stitching.
09:48Lovely, thank you.
10:01So shine a light in your eye.
10:05My lashes responded well.
10:09In Stoke, paramedics Nick and Kyra are with Georgia,
10:13who's having a seizure.
10:17Well done, Georgia.
10:24Are you back with us?
10:27It's all right.
10:28Okay, Ducky.
10:29It's all right.
10:30It's all right.
10:31It's all right.
10:31It's all right, sweetheart.
10:33Would you say that's about the right time?
10:36A couple of minutes when it's just one.
10:39And that is pretty typical of what's been going on?
10:42Okay.
10:44You're doing so, so well.
10:46Okay.
10:46Let's take these off.
10:47Your mum's here with you, okay?
10:51I'm going to take you to hospital.
10:53Hopefully get you feeling a bit better.
10:56Oh, bless you.
10:58One, two, three.
11:00That's it.
11:01And then just do your best to just try and relax, okay?
11:07Just try.
11:08It's easier said than done.
11:10Are we happy?
11:11Come off the oxygen for now?
11:12Yeah.
11:13The reason we decided to take Georgia to hospital
11:15is because mum had explained
11:17that she'd been having a seizure every day.
11:19She'd had more than one whilst we were with her.
11:22This can't keep happening.
11:23It's dangerous.
11:24So, therefore, she needs to be checked out.
11:27There we go.
11:31You're doing so, so well.
11:33Okay, Ducky.
11:35Ramp is in operation.
11:37It's all right, Ducky.
11:39You're all right, Pidge.
11:42That's it.
11:42Absolutely perfect.
11:43You stay where you are, okay?
11:45Because you're never so well.
11:52Your mum's following up behind us, okay?
11:56Georgia, if you feel like you're going to have another one,
11:59please let me know if you can.
12:00All right.
12:04We're just putting the sirens on to get through the traffic.
12:09Sorry?
12:11Another one.
12:16Okay.
12:18Can you squeeze this hand?
12:20I'm going to put this back on your face.
12:23Just going to lift your head up.
12:26On the way to hospital, she went into another seizure.
12:29It was important I kept on talking to her and trying to get a response by squeezing her hand,
12:34as not all seizures involve shaking, but can also present with episodes of vacancy.
12:39Okay.
12:40Can you squeeze this hand?
12:42Can you open your eyes again?
12:45Georgia.
12:46Open your eyes for me.
12:49Amazing.
12:57Okay.
12:57I'll take you in now, lovely.
12:58Okay.
12:59Okay.
12:59Just a couple of little bumps, darling.
13:01All right.
13:02At Royal Stoke University Hospital, doctors will investigate why the frequency of Georgia's seizures has increased so dramatically.
13:20That wasn't very nice for mum to witness.
13:24Obviously, it sounds like it's been going on for a while, but it was good that we actually got to
13:28see what was happening with her.
13:29So when she does go and see neurology, they've got a better idea of what is actually happening.
13:35Yeah.
13:36It's never nice to see your kids go through stuff and feel like you can't do anything.
13:49This is the exact same as what you've got on now, but with a little bit of water on it
13:54as well, a bit of salty water.
13:56In Stoke, paramedic Sharni and technician Jack are with veterinary nurse Tammy.
14:03She's fallen at work and badly cut her head.
14:06If you just keep a hold of that on there now, I'd go all daft and start bandaging you around
14:11the head.
14:12But to be totally honest with you, you holding is the best thing for it.
14:17Can I just have a quick look in your eyes, sweetheart?
14:20Perfect.
14:22Can you follow the end of this pen with your eyes?
14:29Lovely. Perfect.
14:31So you're obviously going to have to go a bit round the bush with you.
14:35It's going to need closed somehow, some way.
14:38So you've got yourself half a day off work.
14:41Tammy needed to go to hospital due to the risk of a concussion and the severe soft tissue damage to
14:46her head.
14:47She needed some treatment in hospital to help that heal.
14:50I'm off on holiday for five days after today.
14:52Oh, come on.
14:53Where are you going?
14:54I'm just filling a skip tomorrow.
14:56I've got skip arriving at 7 o'clock tomorrow morning.
14:59I don't know if you'll be doing that.
15:00Well, maybe.
15:01You didn't have to do all this to get out of that.
15:06How have you been on your feet, sweetheart?
15:08I'm fine on my feet.
15:09Fine on your feet.
15:09Yeah.
15:10Because we can get out through that door, can't we?
15:12Yeah, we can.
15:12Yeah.
15:13Perfect.
15:13Let's have a toddle out.
15:18We can try to get your pain under control.
15:22Because I'm going to pop a little needle in you.
15:24A little scratch.
15:28To help with the pain, Jack inserts a cannula into Tammy's arm.
15:33This allows liquid paracetamol to be given intravenously.
15:37So do you guys cannulate animals then?
15:40Yes.
15:40All the time.
15:41That's got to be so much more difficult.
15:44Cunals don't tend to bite you.
15:46I don't want you to do something.
15:47I hope you're not going to start biting me, Tammy.
15:50No, you are.
15:51Oh, good.
15:59Pain's right, to be honest.
16:01It's just me never feels sick.
16:04It's going to do though, isn't it?
16:05You hurt any piece of you and your immediate reactions to, like,
16:09seize yourself up?
16:10Yeah.
16:10I think that's exactly what I'm doing.
16:12Yeah.
16:15I'm going to read the truck photo after crossing.
16:18At Royal Stoke University Hospital, doctors will close Tammy's head wound
16:22and check for any signs of concussion.
16:25We'll find you a nice seat and then we'll get handed over.
16:34It's an impressive head injury that was.
16:37It was.
16:37She got it right down to her skull.
16:39I really didn't expect this to be quite so big.
16:42Hopefully she can get it sorted because she's on holiday in a few days.
16:46She sent you to skip.
16:47Is that what she's doing?
16:48That's what the holiday is for.
16:49Oh.
16:50What's Donny's doing?
17:07You know what your Donny's are?
17:08No.
17:09No.
17:09What do you mean?
17:10Your Donny's are your hands.
17:11Donny's?
17:12Yeah.
17:13Give you Donny's.
17:14Give me hands.
17:15That is actually disgusting though.
17:16Coming from someone that calls a cob, a batch.
17:18A batch?
17:19That's normal.
17:20No, it's not mine.
17:20That is normal.
17:21A sausage batch.
17:22Bacon batch.
17:23It's a roll or a cob.
17:25A roll.
17:26Who are you?
17:27Posh.
17:27I don't know.
17:28It's the way you said it.
17:29It's a roll.
17:30No, I did not say it like that.
17:32It's a roll.
17:33It's a roll.
17:33It's batch.
17:34No.
17:35It's definitely a batch.
17:36Let's agree to disagree.
17:37All right.
17:38There's some awful slang round here though.
17:40No, there's not.
17:41Albinya.
17:42Albinya.
17:43I would if I could, but of course I don't.
17:47That was so good.
17:50Yeah, so it's, I would if I could, but of course I don't.
17:55Which is...
17:56I would if I could, but of course I don't.
18:01Oh, you can't do that, so you don't do it.
18:05It's you can't do that, so you don't do it.
18:09The fact I couldn't even understand what you were saying shows me you got it spot on.
18:21Ambulance service, is the patient breathing?
18:24Yes, the patient's breathing.
18:26He's got a hospital uniform on with his tag on his left arm.
18:32He's obviously let himself out.
18:34He's been sick.
18:36He's convulsing at the moment.
18:42Male adult fitting.
18:45And that is all the information we have?
18:47It's here.
18:48Oh, okay.
18:49One, six, zero.
18:51Oh, there's already a crew here?
18:57A member of the public called 999 after seeing a man convulsing on the ground.
19:03A passing ambulance has also been flagged down.
19:06If you wouldn't mind just getting him up, is that a right word?
19:09Yeah.
19:12Stand up for us.
19:13You can't lie down there.
19:14Come on.
19:19You've been drinking?
19:21Yeah, you've been drinking.
19:23That makes sense.
19:24My first thought when I seen this patient was I recognised he had the hospital wristband and hospital clothing on.
19:30He had obviously been discharged from hospital and he'd had a few too many drinks.
19:36Can you tell us what's happened?
19:39Can you talk to me?
19:41When did you get discharged?
19:45What are we going to do with you, eh?
19:46What did you drink?
19:48What was it?
19:49Gin.
19:49Gin.
19:50How much?
19:52Any of you drank that whole bottle in, like, one go?
19:55And where were you drinking it?
19:57Can you please leave me alone?
20:00Leave you alone?
20:01Yeah.
20:01Are you sure you're okay, though?
20:02Because you've been sick quite a lot.
20:04Yeah, that's fine.
20:05Is there any way we can help you?
20:06No, that's fine.
20:07No?
20:08I don't really want to leave you here.
20:09Is there any chance we could get you somewhere to stay?
20:11Have you got a residence?
20:14Do you mind if we maybe get you into homeless shelter or anything like that?
20:18This patient was suffering the effects of, basically, a hangover.
20:23He was very sick, he was very tired, and he was very nauseous.
20:27And that's kind of when me and Brogan both looked at each other and thought,
20:31he's not really safe to leave out here on the street,
20:34because a lot of people are concerned for him, and so are we, really.
20:38Do you want to go somewhere to have a rest?
20:40Have you got anywhere that you've used before, round here, that you'd like to go to?
20:45Anywhere.
20:45I just need the beddress.
20:48Cheers.
20:49Thank you very much, guys.
20:51Thank you very much.
20:52As the only problem appears to be too much alcohol, the other ambulance can head off.
20:58Would you let us do some checks on you, like your blood pressure and things like that?
21:03Yeah?
21:03Do you feel dizzy at all?
21:06Yeah.
21:09It felt like we were making some progress, he was speaking to us, he was engaging with us,
21:14and then he just put himself on the floor for no reason.
21:18Don't put yourself on the floor like that, please get up for us.
21:31To see what life is really like on the front line, we're following eight paramedic crews
21:37as they respond to emergencies across the West Midlands.
21:43If this is how you are and you're not stable on your feet,
21:47anywhere that we try and get you into for homelessness support,
21:50they're not going to accept you because you're a danger to yourself at the moment.
21:55In Birmingham, paramedic Sian and technician Brogan
21:58are with a patient who was found lying in the street wearing hospital-issue pyjamas.
22:04Turn your head to the side.
22:06And he's just thrown himself back on the ground.
22:10I know you're reacting, come on, let's get you up.
22:14I thought he was clearly faking being unconscious and faking falling on the floor.
22:19We knew that boy, he put his hands out and he rolled himself onto the floor.
22:23That is not any actions of a man that has fallen unconscious.
22:27Come on, we don't want to break our backs, all right?
22:30Come on, sit up with us. Come on.
22:32Sit up. Sit up.
22:34Why did you throw yourself on the floor?
22:36Why do you do that?
22:38We're just trying to help you, we're trying to get you a place to stay.
22:42No, please leave me.
22:44No, we can't leave you like this.
22:46No, we can't.
22:47Because we're just going to get called back if you're on the floor in public,
22:51acting to be unconscious, we're going to come right back.
22:53So what we're going to do now is we'll just take you to hospital.
22:56Because in this state, with how much you've drank,
22:58there's no way you can keep yourself straight on the streets.
23:01Yeah. And also, a homeless shelter won't have you.
23:06Are you going to get up yourself?
23:10Come on then, just on this stretcher.
23:12Just here.
23:17Right, bump.
23:21You don't have a bag.
23:23There wasn't one here.
23:25There we go.
23:31There we go.
23:3638, but it's very warm.
23:38Yeah.
23:39What are we going to do with you, eh?
23:42Need to get into a homeless shelter.
23:45Hey!
23:46I don't know where your bag is.
23:48No, we haven't got your bag.
23:49We don't have it.
23:50Your bag's not there.
23:51You must have lost it.
23:54Your bag's not out there, we had a good check.
23:56Where are you going?
23:59It's not there.
24:00Are you going to come to hospital with us?
24:02No.
24:03No?
24:04Right, OK.
24:08This is where you were found, and your bag isn't here.
24:12The patient insisted on leaving the ambulance.
24:15He has the capacity to make his own decisions,
24:19but if we leave him the way he is,
24:21someone else is going to call an ambulance
24:23and we're going to be back at square one.
24:24He must have left it somewhere, I suppose.
24:28Shall we take you to hospital?
24:30So, what are you going to do now?
24:31Where are you going to go if you don't want to come to hospital?
24:34So, you do want to go to hospital?
24:36Yeah.
24:36Don't like that, then, because we're going to go now.
24:38No, no.
24:40No, it's OK.
24:41We've got to go to hospital now.
24:42We can't wait for you to have a cigarette.
24:43We've got emergencies to go to.
24:45All right.
24:47Come on, then.
24:48Let's go.
24:50When the patient said that he wanted us to wait for him
24:53to have a cigarette, I thought he must be joking
24:55and that he couldn't be serious.
24:58So, if you pop your legs back up for me,
25:01I'll pop some belts over you.
25:05Having been persuaded to forego his cigarette,
25:08Sean and Brogan head round the corner
25:10to the Midland Metropolitan Hospital.
25:13So, I'll speak to the nurse when we get to hospital in a second
25:17and I'll see if she can sort out some accommodation for you,
25:20but...
25:22You need to stop drinking as much,
25:23because if...
25:24I know you can't help it, but...
25:26Leave me alone.
25:33We're heading for those doors just down there.
25:37This is the patient's second visit to hospital today.
25:40In A&E, medical staff will watch over him until he sobers up
25:45and can then be referred to a homeless shelter.
26:03OK, did she actually, like, faint or black out?
26:06Just try and keep yourself as calm as possible, OK?
26:08We're going to rearrange some help.
26:11West Midlands ambulance service receives over 4,000 calls every single day.
26:17It's up to the call assessors to decide which ones to prioritise.
26:22The hardest part of the job, I would say, is because you're on the phone,
26:26you can't see anything that's going on,
26:28so you're just relying on what the patient or the caller is telling you
26:31and it's not a job that you can guess at.
26:34Ambulance service, is the patient breathing?
26:37I don't know, the lorry's just tipped over.
26:40OK.
26:41Do you know where the park and ride is?
26:42No, I'm not familiar, so what can you see from around there?
26:47The overturned lorry, I'm literally, I'm at the roundabout.
26:50Down the line, all right?
26:52Yeah, sorry, I'm just in shock.
26:54No, I can only imagine seeing that down the line.
26:57Supervisor 315Z, we just need to get the address of this emergency, please.
27:01Thank you. Hello, it's the supervisor.
27:02I'm just coming in to the call to help my colleague.
27:04What is the full address of the emergency, please?
27:09I don't have the address.
27:11If there is a delay in the address,
27:13then we'll bring the supervisor in to assist.
27:15And the reason why they assist is because they have different mapping skills
27:17and tools where they can find an address a lot easier and a lot quicker.
27:23How old is the patient? Can you see the patient?
27:26No, I can't. I'm at the back of the lorry.
27:28I was just at the roundabout as it happened.
27:30So all that help has been arranged, OK?
27:33Now, on the road, OK, it's all blocked.
27:35Is there any oil spillages, anything at all?
27:39It's not that I can see, no.
27:40So the lorry's overturned. Has it hit any of the vehicles?
27:44Not that I can see.
27:45There's a lot of traffic building up.
27:47No, I can only imagine, sweetheart.
27:49Just stay where you are.
27:49It's not safe to stay in the car for me, all right?
27:52Yeah, I am staying in the car.
27:54The lady was in the car with her children.
27:56Because it had overturned, it wasn't safe for her to go near that patient.
27:59And I totally understand that.
28:01And that's why we don't send them over.
28:03But it limits what we can do and the information that we get told.
28:09Has anyone got out the lorry at all?
28:10Can you see anyone getting out of the vehicle or anything like that?
28:14Not that I can see, no.
28:16OK.
28:17No, that wasn't the driver, baby.
28:18That's just people trying to help, sweetheart.
28:20Now, sweetheart, of course, all I can do, just because we've got a lot of calls coming in for this,
28:24that's fine, we are coming as fast as we possibly can.
28:27Just stay exactly where you are and, like I said, we'll be there as soon as we can, all right?
28:32No, that's fine.
28:33I'm a little bit nervous as to how I'm going to, like, get home if I'm honest.
28:38There's a lot of traffic and I'm a little bit scared to get out.
28:40No, I understand.
28:41When a call comes through to a call assessor, we have to take full responsibility until someone gets on scene.
28:49We have to make sure that everyone's safe on the road, the patient's safe and we just have to try
28:54and act as fast as we can
28:56until someone else takes over to make sure everyone is safe on that scene.
29:00We've alerted everyone that needs to know, all right?
29:03Amazing. Thank you so much.
29:04No problem. Thanks for letting us know. Take care now.
29:07Thank you. Bye-bye.
29:10After 12 minutes, an ambulance arrived together with a paramedic officer and the fire service.
29:16The lorry driver was found to be uninjured and didn't need to go to hospital.
29:36I planted my chillies in the garden the other day.
29:38How's your radishes getting on?
29:40I water some with me.
29:42Have you?
29:42Yeah.
29:44I did.
29:45This is the first time I've seen you eat radishes in six years.
29:48I bought them purposely.
29:49I put on my shopper nest radish.
29:51I thought you were growing them.
29:53Yeah, I am growing them as well.
29:55But to prove to you that I like radishes, I've bought radishes.
29:59Oh, right, so this is a point scoring, isn't it?
30:01Yeah, yeah.
30:01You're trying to point score.
30:03How many radishes have you eaten since then?
30:08I don't know, I must have bought a pack since then.
30:11One, you love radishes though.
30:13You said you bloody like a radish.
30:14Yeah, but I would never, like, I'd never, I'd really have them in like a salad.
30:18Just admit, you don't like radishes.
30:21It was really like I was eating them as I was cutting them up.
30:32Ambulance, sir, this is the patient breathing.
30:35Yeah, yeah, I'm awake.
30:36Yeah, I'm ringing and burnt myself.
30:38How can I help?
30:39What's happened?
30:41I've just been on the bus and I've had really bad chest pain and I was struggling to breathe.
30:47And can you feel that chest pain right now as we speak?
30:49Yeah, I can still feel it.
30:51He was screwing up to my throat.
30:56We are going to a 41-year-old male with chest pain on the junction of the A34.
31:04Now, that leads me to believe he's in a car.
31:07Yeah.
31:07That's just my detective work.
31:09Well, he could not be.
31:10He could be on a dog walk.
31:12Could be on a bike.
31:13Or a bike.
31:15We'll find out when we get there.
31:16I suppose with any call for a chest pain, you have to think the worst, like any job.
31:21So I suppose you'd be thinking that he could be having a heart attack at the side of the road
31:26and that could lead into a cardiac arrest.
31:31I cannot see him.
31:39You have to go to the hospital.
31:44You have to be on a plane.
31:44And he can't see you.
31:45Do you have to go to the area?
31:47I'll be on the other side of the road when I call it.
31:54I'm in my car and I have to have a plane.
31:57You're on a plane.
32:01I've been on your plane.
32:02or received it could be quite frustrating when we can't find the patient if they're out and about
32:09that just delays time to treat and assess this patient so if they are critical and
32:14that's wasted time that is valuable oh look there he is
32:24there you go
32:29you jump on sit yourself down my name's kira this is brooke what can we do for you
32:47okay so i'll go off the bus and what time was that at
32:51wait 28 25 minutes ago 41 year old welder gareth called 999 when a sudden pain in his chest
32:59forced him to get off the bus i've been through this before yeah and have you had an ambulance out
33:05for it it was in the middle of the night i found 111 they put it through to 999 and
33:11the time to give
33:11him the day after but then they've done a lot of tests and everything so everything's fine
33:15tell you what we'll do is we'll um are you all right take your coat off we'll um do all
33:20your
33:20checks i'll do an ecg and we'll sort of take it from there when that pain first came on what
33:25did
33:25it feel like i can't even describe it was it like heavy sharp burning it was burning and sharp
33:31burning and sharp okay and it and it affected your breathing as well yeah and when it was at its
33:38worst
33:38if you could score that pain out of 10 zero being no pain 10 being the worst pain you've ever
33:43felt
33:4410 yeah yeah and where are you at now it doesn't it doesn't feel like it's there oh so it's
33:50gone
33:51away now okay and you've not had anything because to be fair i've had this before when i do call
33:57you
33:57by the time you're coming to gone yeah so i feel like i'm wasting your time no not at all
34:01how many
34:01times does it happen then say every few weeks every few weeks but i didn't think nothing of it okay
34:06again my mom told me that like hating people in our family died through heart failure it can be an
34:12anxiety related condition but with him having a sort of an extensive family history of heart
34:17conditions that wouldn't be something we'd be able to fully rule out um whether it be an anxiety or
34:22or a sort of a heart condition i thought it was on your own right okay what's your favorite type
34:40of
34:40biscuit depends what mood i'm in i used to have a like proper sweet tooth and now it's just not
34:48it's
34:48just gone like i'd rather have a pack of crisps do you know what i mean no oh i love
34:54a merryland
34:56cookie okay the little mini ones yeah i would die for a pack of them i used to love chocolate
35:02but
35:02now i very very rarely eat chocolate morgan how could you not love chocolate i do like chocolate i just
35:11don't eat it very much anymore you don't love it no no i used to definitely used to
35:18i think i got mature and my taste buds you don't need to rub that in okay like i'd rather
35:25have
35:28cheese what i'd rather have cheese like a cheese for what that is such an old person isn't it give
35:37me
35:38cheese and crackers love it
35:48ambulance services the patient breathing uh yes but not very well can i speak to him to go through
35:54some questions can you answer some questions and you're struggling with your breathing yeah okay is this
36:03breathing problem coming suddenly or gradually 73 year old male breathing problems fighting for
36:14breath it's quite a stressful situation i can imagine if if you can't breathe it's got to be quite
36:20distressing i'm comfortable it's very uncomfortable kind of panics yeah and then the panic makes they're
36:26not being able to breathe in one worse yeah yeah sure i've been here before you know
36:36hello sweet what's your name darling barry barry what's been happening today
36:44okay do you keep wheezing you keep wheezing yeah okay do you feel like you're struggling to catch
36:49your breath at the minute does it do you have any tightness in your chest it feels like it's
36:56further up yeah there's any past medical history you've got copd okay 73 year old barry has a lung
37:07condition condition that makes breathing difficult when his breathing got worse his wife diane called 999
37:14have a listen then we'll decide what we're doing have some deep breaths for me
37:22yeah you're really wheezy aren't you darling let's get you um let's get you some medicine
37:28right let's pop this on you let's see how we get on okay
37:32morgan gives barry a nebulizer which delivers a drug in the form of a mist that he can inhale
37:40this should help open his airways and ease his breathing nice deep breaths all right
37:46copd is like breathing through a straw day to day when you're unwell it can get even worse
37:52barry was in quite a bad way he was quite panicky and stressed he looked him well and his observations
38:00weren't the best everything's a bit piety doesn't it yeah
38:12i need to put some stickers on your chest i'm sure you've had these done before yeah
38:20in stafford paramedics cura and brooke are treating gareth who's complaining of chest pain
38:28and have you had this pain since the last time you had the ambulance out no no fair no i
38:34thought
38:34it had gone away okay i didn't think it would come back again because i said it was all clear
38:39but then today i don't know what went wrong just and you were just sitting on the bus you weren't
38:44doing anything strenuous no just relaxing really okay i've never felt anything like it i tell you what i'll
38:51take your temperature and i'll do your blood sugars as well when gareth described his symptoms we
38:56initially thought that he was having some sort of cardiac event whether that was a heart attack
39:00or angina it could have also been something related to his lungs like a chest infection
39:05so we made sure to do a full assessment 4.3 am i right to have a little listen to
39:12your breathing as
39:13well lean forward for me thank you so far your ecg is absolutely fine and all your checks so far
39:24have
39:24been absolutely fine there's nothing going on with all of your observations but it doesn't give you the
39:29full story your ecg can look a-okay and something else been going on that we can't see lots of
39:37people
39:37can have an ecg that's okay and be having a heart attack so it's very much like everything looks okay
39:43on the outside but you don't really know what's going on on the inside until they get to hospital
39:47so obviously if we don't know um it's always best be on the safe side if you'll come with us
39:54is are you happy with that yeah ready to go
40:03not all chest pain is heart related but with gareth's family history of heart disease
40:08it's important he gets checked out
40:12so are you on your way back from college or way to college what do you do got my welder
40:18are you doing
40:19something to do with welding at the college what are you doing at the college yeah bible college
40:26a bible college and do you study the bible oh yeah i've had a really better rocky past don't
40:32worry don't worry um and then turned your life around when you hit rock bottom there's only one way
40:38to get back up fair enough
40:43you can pop your belt off now yeah stand clear all ready to go
40:50a county hospital in stafford gareth will have a series of blood tests this is the only way to rule
40:57out a heart attack
41:05does that feel like it's easing does it feel better with that on yeah to the north of birmingham
41:15paramedic daisy and student paramedic morgan are with barry who's struggling to breathe
41:21the way yeah is it just not going okay well you're right to pop these on your chest sweet
41:33take this off yeah let's turn this off for a minute
41:37but we're still very wheezy just give him some hydrocore if i can get a line in
41:47it's not going to get a line in the airways you're okay barry you still feel feel really
41:53difficult to breathe when we had the mask on was that helping or was it about the same
42:08you focus on your breathing it's actually 93 he is desaturating barry isn't getting enough oxygen
42:15if his levels continue to drop it could lead to organ failure let's pop this back on you okay
42:23you've had that medicine as well now through your vein okay that should help there you go
42:30okay barry how would you feel about going to hospital again today
42:36i know you don't want to i don't see the point i know the kids sending me home i'm not
42:43right
42:44well that's the thing isn't it you're not right and this can't keep happening
42:50i don't know you can't be at home like this can you
42:54it's scary i know i know i can tell it's frustrating it's scary you very clearly can't
43:01breathe they need to sort it out don't they yes they do we insisted on barry going to hospital
43:09he wasn't going to get any better by himself at home he needed further intervention and he could only
43:14get that from the hospital you're going to be all right barry we're going to look after you sweet
43:18and we're going to get you sorted we are in the uk around 1.4 million people like barry have
43:28copd
43:29it's the second most common cause of admission to hospital
43:37let's keep that on you for a little bit and see how you get on all right
43:43is that easing with that mask on barry no not at all no okay on the way to the hospital
43:51barry
43:51wasn't getting any better it made me think is there something else going on here why is he not
43:56responding well to the medication barry must be quite scared right now and it's frustrating for us to
44:02see him being in such distress and there's nothing more that we can do at the minute do you smoke
44:09no
44:10no did you use stuff no okay the result of long-term smoking is often copd
44:18it's thought to be responsible for around nine in every ten cases
44:23we're nearly here now barry we're on the hospital grounds all right
44:29does it still feel hard to catch your breath yeah
44:42okay yeah no change
44:46at warsaw manor hospital medical staff will try to stabilize barry's breathing
44:52and helping better manage his condition at home
45:04he was a poorly man wasn't he he ended up being really quite unwell didn't he very poorly indeed
45:09i know hopefully they get him sorted and can go home to his lovely wife go back to normal good
45:14job
45:16productive gailies indeed
45:24it's not the only thing that's happening
45:24barry spent two weeks in hospital he was given antibiotics to help reduce the infection in his
45:30lungs and make breathing easier
45:34tammy who fell at work was seen by a plastic surgeon who closed her head wound
45:40she also had x-rays to rule out any damage to her neck
45:45gareth had blood tests that showed he'd not had a heart attack
45:49but he was found to have emphysema a condition that affects the lungs
45:55and georgia whose seizures were becoming more frequent spent six hours in hospital
46:01when i got to the hospital i had some tests done and then they spoke to the neurologist
46:07who decided that they would prefer to see me in outpatients and they want me to
46:13have an mri scan an aeg to see whether what kind of seizures i'm having i'm still waiting for that
46:19so
46:34so
46:35so
46:52Transcription by CastingWords
Comments