- 5 hours ago
999 On the Front Line S14E05 H 264
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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 pains.
00:14Who's coming up to my throat?
00:16Righty ho, let's get them bad boys on.
00:19West Midlands Ambulance Service looks after almost six million people.
00:24I love the fact that not just every shift's different,
00:28every job's different.
00:28Do you remember everything that's happened?
00:32It looks like you're having a heart attack.
00:35Saving 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.
00:51Filming 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?
01:33Everything.
01:33Breakfast, dinner, hairbrush, make-up.
01:36Why have you brought us all that?
01:38You 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.
01:45Yeah.
01:46It just goes.
01:47I need to touch up my nose on my brain.
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 mayo?
02:09No.
02:10Do you like perinaise?
02:11No.
02:12Do you like burger sauce?
02:14No.
02:16Tuna with chopped up onion and beetroot.
02:20Oh, it would be.
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?
02:49Swans, ducks, geese.
02:50What are they?
02:50Nice and smooth on the water.
02:52Oh, yeah.
02:53But the legs are going underneath.
02:55It's just drowning.
02:56Yeah.
02:57I think that's us.
02:57We've got a good front.
02:58I think that describes a barometric.
03:00Yeah, I think it's ducks.
03:02No, swans.
03:03I think it's swans.
03:04I think it's swans.
03:06I think it's swans.
03:06I'll be a duck.
03:07OK.
03:09Quack.
03:09That was good.
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.
03:24Soap box, won't it?
03:26Yeah.
03:26I'll get all my sayings wrong, honestly.
03:34999.
03:35We've got a 24-year-old female fitting within the last 12 hours.
03:40She's currently under investigations.
03:42The last two days of fits are getting worse.
03:45Yes.
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.
04:04I know.
04:08Hello.
04:09Where are we going?
04:11Just into the evening room.
04:12Amazing.
04:12All right.
04:14What's your name, lovely?
04:15Georgia.
04:16Georgia.
04:16My name's Kyra Nick.
04:18I used to be top.
04:19Right, then.
04:19Am I right to do some observations on you whilst we have a chat?
04:23No.
04:23Can I have your arm out of this?
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.
04:39And then you see her, oh, he's 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.
04:54And my hands had tense up a little bit.
04:56The last few weeks to getting pretty much every day, like,
04:59I'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, no.
05:14Right.
05:15I can't wait you for an MRI and...
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.
05:25But 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 scary.
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.
05:44No, no.
05:44Because that's the only concern, is if you're going to be on your own.
05:49Yeah.
05:49I don't think she's going into one.
05:51Yeah, I don't know.
05:54I'm just going to put your legs up on the sofa.
05:57You don't have to 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.
06:07She suddenly went into another seizure.
06:08We applied oxygen and made sure she was safe, as we don't know how long this is going to last
06:13for.
06:26If you were a food, you would be chicken nuggets and chips on separate sides of the plane.
06:34You are consistent.
06:36I always know what you're getting.
06:37Yeah, you always know what you're getting.
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 is chaotic?
07:08A bit chaotic.
07:09A lot going on at once.
07:11But full of flavour.
07:14Full of flavour.
07:24Ambulance service.
07:25Is the patient breathing?
07:26Yes.
07:27What's happened?
07:29We're at work.
07:31The girl's fallen over and cut her head open.
07:33Is the patient conscious in a way?
07:36They've drifted, sort of, faintly.
07:38If they'd lost any blood?
07:40Yes.
07:41Ten centimetres of 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.
08:15Hiya.
08:17Hello.
08:17I'm Jack.
08:18We've got Sharni with me.
08:19Hello.
08:19What have you done?
08:21Head-butted the step.
08:23Sounds like a really silly question.
08:26Is 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 you.
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 a compass-mentous.
08:49No.
08:49You are where you are.
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.
09:03I think I found 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.
09:16Isn't it?
09:16Yeah, it must have had a bit of cold.
09:17It is a bit cold.
09:18Your neck's 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?
09:24My neck hurts too fat.
09:25Can I have a feel of your neck?
09:27Yeah.
09:30Any pain when I'm pressing?
09:32No.
09:32No.
09:33Would you mind if Sharni took a photo of your head before I give it a clean and a dress?
09:37Yes.
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.
09:49Lovely, thank you.
10:02Shine a light in your eye.
10:06My lashes responded well.
10:09In Stoke, paramedics Nick and Kyra are with Georgia, who's having a seizure.
10:17Well done, Georgia.
10:23Well done.
10:25Are you back with us?
10:27It's all right.
10:28OK, ducky.
10:29It's all right.
10:30It'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?
10:42OK.
10:44You're doing so, so well.
10:46OK, let's take these off.
10:48Your mum's here with you, OK?
10:51I'm going to take you to hospital.
10:54Hopefully get you feeling a bit better.
10:56Oh, bless me.
10:58One, two, three.
11:00That's it.
11:01And then just do your best to just try and relax, OK?
11:07Just try.
11:08It's easier said than done.
11:10Are we happy to come off the oxygen for now?
11:12Yeah.
11:12The reason we decided to take Georgia to hospital is because mum had explained that she'd been having a seizure
11:18every 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.
11:34OK, Ducky.
11:34Stand clear.
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, OK?
11:45You're doing ever so well.
11:52Your mum's following up behind us, OK?
11:56Georgia, if you feel like you're going to have another one, please let me know, if you can.
12:00All right.
12:04We're just putting the sirens on to get through the traffic.
12:10Sorry?
12:11Another one.
12:16OK.
12:19Can 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.
12:39Can you squeeze this hand?
12:42Can you open your eyes again?
12:45Georgia, open your eyes for me.
12:49Amazing.
12:55OK, we'll take you in now, lovely, OK?
12:59OK, sweet talk. Just a couple of little bumps, darling, all right?
13:03At 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.
13:50This 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?
14:21Perfect.
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
14:44and the severe soft tissue damage to her 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. Where are you going?
14:55I'm just filling a skip tomorrow. I've got a skip arriving at 7 o'clock tomorrow morning.
14:59I don't know if he'll be doing that. Well, 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.
15:09Because we can get out through that door, can't we?
15:12Yeah, we can.
15:12Yeah.
15:13Perfect. Let's have a toddle out.
15:18We can try and 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. All the time.
15:41That's got to be so much more difficult.
15:44Humans don't tend to bite you. I don't want you to do something.
15:47I hope you're not going to start biting me, Tammy, but...
15:51Never mind.
15:51Never mind.
15:51Oh, good.
15:59The pain's fine, to be honest, it's just my neck feels stiff.
16:04It's going through the winter, you hurt any piece of you and your immediate reactions to, like, seize yourself off?
16:10Yeah.
16:10I think that's exactly what I've done.
16:12Yeah.
16:15I'm going to read the truck photo after crossing.
16:17At Royal Stoke University Hospital, doctors will close Tammy's head wound and check for any signs of concussion.
16:25We'll find your nice seat and then we'll get handed over.
16:34It's an impressive head injury that was.
16:37It was, wasn't it? She 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's emptying a skit.
16:47Is that what she's doing?
16:48That's what the holiday's for.
16:49Oh.
16:50Well, Stoney is doing.
17:07Do you know what your donnies are?
17:08No.
17:09No, what do you mean?
17:10Your donnies are your hands.
17:11Donnies?
17:12Yeah, it gives you donnies.
17:14It's like, give me hands.
17:14It gives you donnies.
17:15That is actually disgusting though.
17:17Coming from something that's called a cob, a batch.
17:18A batch? That's normal.
17:20A batch.
17:20No, it's not mine.
17:21That is normal.
17:21A sausage batch, bacon batch.
17:23It's a roll or a cob.
17:25A roll.
17:26Who are you?
17:27I don't know.
17:28It's the way you said it.
17:29It's a roll.
17:30It's a roll.
17:30No, I did not say it like that.
17:31Roll.
17:32It's a roll.
17:34It's batch.
17:35No.
17:35It's definitely batch.
17:36Let's agree to disagree.
17:37Not 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 I course to Adele.
17:47That was so good.
17:50Yeah, so it's, I would if I could, but I course to Adele.
17:58Oh, 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've got it spot on.
18:21Ambulance service.
18:22Is the patient breathing?
18:24Yes, the patient's breathing.
18:26He's got a hospital uniform on with his tag on his left arm.
18:31He's obviously let himself out.
18:34He's been sick.
18:36He's convulsing at the moment.
18:42Male adult fitting.
18:44And that is all the information we have?
18:47See ya.
18:48Oh, okay.
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.
19:07If 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.
19:15Come on.
19:20You've been drinking?
19:21Yeah, you've been drinking.
19:24That makes sense.
19:24My first thought when I seen this patient was I recognised he had the hospital wristband
19:28and 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?
19:58Can you please leave me alone?
20:00Leave you alone?
20:01Yeah.
20:01Are you sure you're okay, though, because 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 can get you somewhere to stay?
20:11Have you got a residence?
20:14Do you mind if we maybe get you into a 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, he's not really safe to
20:33leave 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.
20:46Others need the bed rest.
20:49Cheers.
20:50Thank 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.
21:04Do you feel dizzy at all?
21:06Yeah.
21:09It felt like we were making some progress.
21:11He was speaking to us, he was engaging with us, and then he just put himself on the floor for
21:17no 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 as they respond to
21:38emergencies across the West Midlands.
21:43If this is how you are and you're not stable on your feet, anywhere that we try and get you
21:49into 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 are with a patient who was found lying in the street wearing hospital
22:02-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. Sit up. Sit up.
22:34Why did you throw yourself on the floor?
22:36Why do you do that?
22:37We'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. No, we can't.
22:47Because we're just going to get called back.
22:48If you're on the floor in public, acting to be unconscious, we're going to come right back.
22:54So, 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, there's no way you can keep yourself straight on the streets.
23:01Yeah.
23:02And also, a homeless shelter won't have you.
23:05Yeah.
23:06Are you going to get up yourself?
23:10Come on, then.
23:11Just on this stretcher.
23:12Just here.
23:17Right.
23:18Bump.
23:21You don't have a bag.
23:23There wasn't one here.
23:25Up we go.
23:31There we go.
23:3638, but it's very warm.
23:39Yeah.
23:39What are we going to do with you, eh?
23:42Need to get into a homeless shelter.
23:45Hey, I 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...
23:52You must have lost it.
23:54Your bag's not out there.
23:55We had a good check.
23:56No.
23:56Where are you going?
23:59It's not there.
24:00Are you going to come to hospital with us?
24:03No.
24:03No?
24:05Right, 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?
24:33Here.
24:35So 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.
24:39No, it's OK.
24:41No, we're going to go now.
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.
24:46All 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.
24:59So 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,
25:07Sean 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 you need to stop drinking as much,
25:24because if... I 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.
25:41In 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.
26:12West Midlands Ambulance Service
26:13receives over 4,000 calls every single day.
26:17It's up to the call assessors
26:19to decide which ones to prioritise.
26:22The hardest part of the job, I would say,
26:24is 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
26:30or 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.
26:41Do you know where the parking ride is?
26:42No, I'm not familiar,
26:44so what can you see from around there?
26:47The overturned lorry, I'm literally, I'm at the roundabout.
26:50It's down the line, all right?
26:52Yeah, sorry, I'm just in shock.
26:54No, I can only imagine you if that's down the line.
26:57Supervisor, 315Z,
26:58we just need to get the address for this emergency, please.
27:02Hello, Mr Supervisor.
27:03I'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
27:17different mapping skills and tools
27:19where they can find an address a lot easier
27:21and a lot quicker.
27:23How old is the patient?
27:24Can you see the patient?
27:26No, I can't. I'm at the back of the lorry.
27:28No.
27:29I was just at the roundabout as it happened.
27:31So all the help has been arranged, OK?
27:33Now, on the road, OK, it's all blocked.
27:36Is there any oil spillages, anything at all?
27:39It's not that I can see, no.
27:40So the lorry's over turned.
27:41Has it hit any of the vehicles?
27:44Not that I can see.
27:46There'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,
27:58it wasn't safe for her to go near that patient.
28:00And I totally understand that.
28:01And that's why we don't send them over.
28:03But it limits what we can do
28:07and the information that we get told.
28:09Has anyone got out the lorry at all?
28:11Can you see anyone getting out of the vehicle
28:12or anything like that?
28:14Not that I can see, no.
28:16No, that wasn't the driver, baby.
28:18That's just people trying to help, sweetheart.
28:20Now, sweetheart, of course, what I can do,
28:22just because we've got a lot of calls coming in for this,
28:25that's fine, we are coming as fast as we possibly can.
28:27Just stay exactly where you are
28:29and, like I said, we'll be there as soon as we can, all right?
28:32No, that's fine.
28:34I'm a little bit nervous as to how I'm going to, like,
28:37get 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.
28:42When a call comes through to a call assessor,
28:44we have to take full responsibility
28:47until someone gets on scene.
28:49We have to make sure that everyone's safe on the road,
28:52the patient's safe,
28:53and we just have to try and act as fast as we can
28:56until someone else takes over
28:57to 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.
29:05No problem, thanks for letting us know. Take care now.
29:07Thank you, bye-bye. Cheers, bye-bye.
29:10After 12 minutes, an ambulance arrived
29:12together with a paramedic officer and the fire service.
29:16The lorry driver was found to be uninjured
29:19and 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 brought 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.
29:52I thought you were growing them.
29:53Yeah, I am growing them as well.
29:55But to prove to you that I like radishes...
29:59Oh, right, so this is a point scoring, isn't it?
30:01Yeah, yeah.
30:01You're trying to point score.
30:02Yeah, yeah.
30:03How many radishes have you eaten since then?
30:07Um...
30:08I don't know.
30:09I must have bought a pack since then.
30:11One...
30:11You love radishes, though.
30:13You said you bloody love from radishes.
30:14Yeah, but I would never, like, I'd never...
30:16I'd really have them in, like, a salad.
30:19Just admit...
30:19Try you don't like radishes.
30:21Really, 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.
30:39How can I help?
30:39What's happened?
30:41I've just been on a bus,
30:42and I've had really bad chest pain,
30:45and I was struggling to breathe.
30:47And can you feel that chest pain right now as we speak?
30:49Yeah, I kissed off you.
30:51He was screaming up to my throat.
30:57We are going to a 41-year-old male with chest pain
31:01on the junction of the A34.
31:04Now, that leads me to believe he's in a car.
31:07Yeah.
31:08That's just my detective work.
31:09Well, he could not be.
31:10He could be on a dog walk.
31:12Could he be on a bike?
31:13Or a bike.
31:15Or find out when we get there.
31:17I suppose with any call for a chest pain,
31:19you have to think the worst, like any job.
31:21Erm, so I suppose you'd be thinking
31:23that he could be having a heart attack
31:25at the side of the road,
31:26and that could lead into a cardiac arrest.
31:31I...cannot see him.
31:35PHONE RINGS
31:362-0-3.
31:38PHONE RINGS
31:380-3, guys.
31:48PHONE RINGS
31:54I've just spoken to you.
31:55He's still in the area.
31:57He's wearing a black coat, blue jeans,
31:59and he's got a grey bag.
32:01PHONE RINGS
32:01Yep, that's all received.
32:04PHONE RINGS
32:04It can be quite frustrating when we can't find the patient,
32:07if they're out and about.
32:09That just delays time to treat and assess this patient.
32:12So if they are critical, erm, that's a waste of time that is valuable.
32:18PHONE RINGS
32:19Oh, look, there he is.
32:23PHONE RINGS
32:24There you go.
32:27PHONE RINGS
32:29You jump on.
32:31Sit yourself down.
32:32My name's Keira.
32:34This is Brooke.
32:35What can we do for you?
32:37I got onto the bus.
32:38You want to come out?
32:39I was on White College.
32:40Mm-hm.
32:40And, erm, when I got on there, I just couldn't breathe.
32:43My goodness, I don't think about getting my life.
32:45Mm-hm.
32:45Pain was unbearable, and I couldn't breathe.
32:47OK.
32:48So I'll go off the bus.
32:49And what time was that at?
32:51About 20, 25 minutes ago.
32:5441-year-old welder Gareth called 999
32:57when a sudden pain in his chest forced him to get off the bus.
33:03I've been through this before.
33:04Yeah?
33:04And have you had an ambulance out for it?
33:06Yeah.
33:06It was in the middle of the night.
33:08Mm-hm.
33:08I found 111.
33:09They put it through to 999.
33:10Mm-hm.
33:11And the time was to give him the day after.
33:13But then they've done a lot of tests and everything,
33:15and everything's fine.
33:16I'll tell you what we'll do is we'll, erm,
33:17are you all right?
33:17Take your coat off.
33:18We'll, erm, do all your checks.
33:20I'll do an ECG, and we'll sort of take it from there.
33:23When that pain first came on, what did it feel like?
33:26I can't even describe it.
33:27Was it, like, heavy, sharp, burning?
33:30It was burning and sharp.
33:31Burning and sharp.
33:33OK.
33:34And it affected your breathing as well?
33:36Yeah.
33:37And when it was at its worst, if you could score that pain out of ten,
33:41zero being no pain, ten being the worst pain you've ever felt.
33:44Ten.
33:45Yeah.
33:45Yeah?
33:46And where are you at now?
33:47Er, I mean, it doesn't feel like it's there.
33:50So it's gone away now?
33:52OK.
33:53And you've not had any...
33:53I'm not going to call you because, to be fair, I've had this before.
33:56When I do call you, by the time you come, it's gone.
33:58Yeah.
33:59So I feel like I'm wasting your time.
34:00No, not at all.
34:01How many times does it happen, then?
34:02Say, every few weeks.
34:03Every few weeks.
34:04OK.
34:04But I didn't think nothing of it.
34:05OK.
34:06But then my mum told me that, like, hating people in our family had died through heart failure.
34:12It can be an anxiety-related condition, but with him having a sort of an extensive family history of heart
34:18conditions,
34:18that wouldn't be something we'd be able to fully rule out, whether it be an anxiety or a sort of
34:23a heart condition.
34:24I thought it was angiotic.
34:26OK.
34:40What's your favourite type of biscuit?
34:42Ten-foot mood, I mean.
34:43I used to have, like, proper sweet tooth.
34:47And now it's just gone.
34:49Like, I'd rather have a pack of crisps.
34:52Do you know what I mean?
34:52No.
34:53Oh.
34:54I love a Maryland cookie.
34:57You know, the little ones.
34:58OK, the little mini ones, yeah.
35:00I would die for a pack of them.
35:01I used to love chocolate, but now I very, very rarely eat chocolate.
35:06Morgan, how could you not love chocolate?
35:08I do like chocolate.
35:11I just don't eat it very much anymore.
35:13And you don't love it?
35:14No.
35:15No.
35:16I used to.
35:17Definitely used to.
35:19I think I got mature and my taste buds.
35:22You don't need to rub that in, OK?
35:24Like, I'd rather have cheese.
35:28What?
35:31I'd rather have cheese.
35:32Like a cheese sword.
35:33Cheers for what?
35:34That is such an old person thing.
35:36Isn't it?
35:37Give me cheese and crackers.
35:39Love it.
35:48Ambulance service.
35:49Is the patient breathing?
35:51Yes, but not very well.
35:53Can I speak to him to go through some questions?
35:56Can you answer some questions?
35:59Are you struggling with your breathing?
36:01Yeah.
36:02OK, is this breathing problem coming suddenly or gradually?
36:05Well, it's still doing it.
36:1073-year-old male, breathing problems, fighting for breath.
36:16It's quite a stressful situation, I can imagine.
36:18If you can't breathe, it's got to be quite distressing.
36:22Uncomfortable, isn't it?
36:22Very uncomfortable.
36:23Every one kind of panics.
36:25Yeah.
36:25And then the panic makes the not being able to breathe even worse.
36:28Absolutely.
36:28Yeah.
36:28Yeah.
36:29Sure I've been here before, you know.
36:36Hello, sweet.
36:38What's your name, darling?
36:39Barry.
36:40Barry.
36:41What's been happening today?
36:44They keep wheezing.
36:46You keep wheezing?
36:47Yeah.
36:48OK.
36:48Do you feel like you're struggling to catch your breath at the minute?
36:50Yeah.
36:51Do you have any tightness in your chest?
36:53It seems it's all coming from my throat.
36:56It feels like it's further up.
36:58There's any past medical history?
37:01COPD.
37:01You've got COPD, OK.
37:0573-year-old Barry has a lung condition that makes breathing difficult.
37:09When his breathing got worse, his wife Diane called 999.
37:15Have a listen, then we'll decide what we're doing.
37:17Have some deep breaths for me.
37:22Yeah, you're really wheezy, aren't you, darling?
37:24Let's get you, erm...
37:26Let's get you some medicine.
37:27Can I have?
37:28Right, let's pop this on you.
37:30Let's see how we get on.
37:31OK.
37:33Morgan gives Barry a nebuliser, which delivers a drug in the form of a mist that he can inhale.
37:39This should help open his airways and ease his breathing.
37:43Nice deep breaths, all right.
37:46COPD is like breathing through a straw, day to day.
37:50When you're unwell, it can get even worse.
37:53Barry was in quite a bad way.
37:55He was quite panicky and stressed.
37:57He looked unwell and his observations weren't the best.
38:02Everything's a bit piety, isn't it?
38:05Yeah.
38:13I need to put some stickers on your chest.
38:16I'm sure you've had these done before.
38:18Yeah, that really is.
38:20In Stafford, paramedics Kira 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?
38:32No.
38:32No?
38:33To be fair, no.
38:33I thought it had gone away.
38:35OK.
38:35I didn't think it would come back again.
38:37Cos I said it was all clear.
38:39But then today, I don't know what went wrong.
38:42And you were just sitting on the bus, you weren't doing anything strenuous?
38:45No, just relaxing, really.
38:46OK.
38:48I've never felt anything like it.
38:50I'll tell you what, I'll take your temperature and I'll do your blood sugars as well.
38:53When Gareth described his symptoms, we initially thought that he was having some sort of cardiac event,
38:59whether that was a heart attack or angina.
39:01It could have also been something related to his lungs, like a chest infection.
39:05So we made sure to do a full assessment.
39:084.3.
39:10Am I right to have a little listen to your breathing as well?
39:13Yeah, sure.
39:14Lean forward for me.
39:20So far, your ECG is absolutely fine, and all your checks so far have been absolutely fine.
39:25There's nothing going on with all of your observations, but it doesn't give you the full story.
39:30Your ECG can look A-OK, and something else has been going on that we can't see.
39:37Lots of people can have an ECG that's OK and be having a heart attack, so it's very much like,
39:42everything looks OK on the outside, but you don't really know what's going on on the inside until they get
39:46to hospital.
39:48So, obviously, if we don't know, it's always best to be on the safe side.
39:52If you'll come with us...
39:55Are you happy with that?
39:56Yeah.
39:58Ready to go?
40:00Up.
40:03Not all chest pain is heart-related, but with Gareth's family history of heart disease,
40:09it's important he gets checked out.
40:12So, were you on your way back from college or way to college?
40:16No, I was right there.
40:16What do you do?
40:18I got my welding.
40:19Are you doing something to do with welding at the college?
40:21What are you doing at the college?
40:23Yeah.
40:24It's a Bible college.
40:26A Bible college?
40:27And do you study the Bible?
40:30Oh.
40:30I've had a really better, rocky past.
40:32Don't worry, don't worry.
40:33And then...
40:34Turned your life around.
40:35When you hit rock bottom, there's only one way to get back up.
40:39Fair enough.
40:43You can pop your belt off now, yeah?
40:45Stand clear.
40:47All ready to go.
40:50At County Hospital in Stafford, Gareth will have a series of blood tests.
40:55This is the only way to rule out a heart attack.
41:05Does that feel like it's easing?
41:07Does it feel better with that on?
41:10It feels better.
41:11Yeah.
41:14To the north of Birmingham, paramedic Daisy and student paramedic Morgan are with Barry,
41:19who's struggling to breathe.
41:21They're wheezy.
41:22Yeah.
41:23I've had it now for a month.
41:24Is it just not going?
41:26They're not being enough.
41:27It's all right.
41:29OK.
41:29Am I all right to pop these on your chest, sweet?
41:32Yeah.
41:33Take this off, you see?
41:35Yeah, let's turn this off for a minute.
41:37But we're still very wheezy.
41:40Just give me some hydro-core if I can get a line in.
41:44Daisy gives Barry a drug designed to reduce the inflammation in his airways.
41:49You OK, Barry?
41:51You still feel really difficult to breathe?
41:55When we had your mask on, was that helping?
41:58Or was it about the same?
42:00A little bit.
42:08You focus on your breathing?
42:10It's actually 93.
42:11He is desaturating.
42:13Barry isn't getting enough oxygen.
42:16If his levels continue to drop, it could lead to organ failure.
42:21Let's pop this back on you, OK?
42:22Yeah.
42:23You've had that medicine as well now through your vein, OK?
42:26That should help.
42:27There you go.
42:31Barry?
42:32What?
42:32How would you feel about going to hospital again today?
42:37I know you don't want to.
42:40I know.
42:42Well, that's the thing, isn't it?
42:46You're not right.
42:47And this can't keep happening.
42:50I don't know.
42:51You can't be at home like this, can you?
42:55I know.
42:56I can tell.
42:57It's frustrating.
42:58It's scary.
42:59You very clearly can't breathe.
43:02They need to sort it out, don't they?
43:03Yeah.
43:04Yes, I do.
43:06We insisted on Barry going to hospital.
43:09He wasn't going to get any better by himself at home.
43:11He needed further intervention and he could only get that from the hospital.
43:16You're going to be all right, Barry.
43:17We're going to look after you, sweet.
43:19And we're going to get you sorted.
43:20We are.
43:21We are.
43:23In the UK, around 1.4 million people like Barry have COPD.
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?
43:46No.
43:47Not at all?
43:48No.
43:49OK.
43:49On the way to the hospital, Barry wasn't getting any better.
43:53It made me think, is there something else going on here?
43:55Why is he not responding well to the medication?
43:58Barry must be quite scared right now.
44:01And it's frustrating for us to see him being in such distress
44:05and there's nothing more that we can do at the minute.
44:08Do you smoke?
44:10No.
44:10No?
44:11Did you use to?
44:11No.
44:12OK.
44:14The 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.
44:24We're on the hospital grounds, all right?
44:26Yeah.
44:30Does it still feel hard to catch your breath?
44:32Yeah.
44:32Yeah.
44:42OK.
44:43Yeah, no change.
44:46At Walsall Manor Hospital, medical staff will try to stabilise Barry's breathing
44:52in helping better manage his condition at home.
45:04He was a poorly man, wasn't he?
45:06He ended up being really quite unwell, didn't he?
45:08Very poorly indeed.
45:09I know.
45:10Hopefully they'll get him sorted and he can go home to his lovely wife.
45:13Go back to normal.
45:14Good job.
45:16Productive girlies.
45:17Indeed.
45:24Barry spent two weeks in hospital.
45:26He was given antibiotics to help reduce the infection in his lungs and make breathing easier.
45:35Tammy, 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, but he was found to have emphysema, a
45:52condition 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 who decided
46:09that they would prefer to see me in outpatients.
46:11And they want me to have an MRI scan, an EEG, to see what kind of seizures I'm having.
46:18I'm still waiting for that.
46:30So, hopefully, we'll be right back to you soon.
46:31Thank you for your attention.
46:31Thanks for listening.
46:31.
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