This programme contains some strong language and scenes which some viewers may find upsetting
Is she breathing?
SIREN BLARES
Every minute of every day,
the Ambulance Service answers our cries for help...
..as our NHS faced a national emergency like no other.
In a year when over 11 million people dialled 999
for an ambulance, 1.4 million calls were to
the North West Ambulance Service...
I think this lockdown's been the worst.
We're watching people die in front of us
and there's nothing we can do about it.
God knows where any of these patients
that are coming in now are going to go.
PATIENT COUGHS
..as the people of Merseyside experienced the worst of times.
There's no way I can leave you at home like this.
Decisions of life and death brought out the best of us.
Oh, to be a Scouser.
ON RADIO: Across Liverpool,
from Hits Radio network. Radio City.
REPORTER: Warnings are in place across Merseyside
and the north-west as Storm Christoph
brings days of rain.
Oh, what's this weather like, hey?
I know.
Horrendous.
We are going to have curly hair today.
Oh, my God. Look at this.
If you really can't work from home and you're out on the road,
the advice is to prepare for difficult conditions
and take it slow.
Any flooding could last several days.
The whole of the country is in lockdown
and the North West Ambulance Service is feeling the first effects
of Storm Christoph.
Authenticated.
It's pretty shocking, to be honest with you.
We've got 66 jobs waiting to be allocated.
Some have been there since last night.
In Control, the blue team will be responsible for
the 91 ambulances on duty across Merseyside...
I think I was mentally drained last night when I got in.
I just sat on the couch.
Didn't even have my tea or anything.
Nothing's going to be any better today.
Actually, it'll probably be worse.
..including Romeo 663, Chris, who is a solo paramedic.
Good morning. Are you well? Over.
Good morning to you, Control. I'm good, thanks.
How are you? Oh, yeah. Knackered from yesterday.
It was absolutely chocker.
So fingers crossed it's a good one today. Over.
I heard it was bad, yeah.
Weather's quite rainy out here as well today
so I've got my hood up.
Have a good shift. Over.
Alpha 775, Emily and Jo, will also be on duty
for the next 12 hours.
I think we're going to need a cup of tea, do you?
I think we're going to need about seven cup of teas.
Oh, it's too miserable.
It's, like, dead heavy rain as well.
I know.
Just be careful.
The North West Ambulance Service covers five counties,
from the top of Cumbria all the way down to Greater Manchester,
where the Regional Operational Coordinating Centre
will be overseeing the emergency response to the entire patch.
Good morning, everyone.
Very challenging day yesterday.
We now have eight staff members in hospital,
of which three are in ICU.
We've got amber weather warnings for flooding.
It has now become a national incident with pretty much
all of the country affected.
Cheshire Police have already gone to major incident standby.
We're squeezing an already very tired force
and now we're going to get flooded on a Tuesday, Wednesday.
Just typical, isn't it?
My worry is, if Lancs goes underwater,
bits of Cheshire goes underwater,
bits of Manchester goes underwater,
we're going to have to be very hot on the regional base coordination,
and that'll be the rock side of things.
PHONE RINGS Ambulance. Is the patient breathing?
Is there a defibrillator available?
I'm just organising help for you now.
Stay on the line, OK?
Have you tried to move her at all?
You've put her back onto the bed?
Right, OK. Well, we need you to take her and put her back on the floor.
Alpha 775.
Alpha 775, thanks.
This is a Cat 1 call. It's a 74-year-old female.
She's described as not breathing.
Aw, roger, all received. We're en route. Over.
What's your relationship to her?
You're her son, OK.
Oh, God, and we're moaning about the weather.
And that poor guy's just gone and found his mum.
Urgh.
We need to start CPR.
I know you're saying she's already passed away,
but we do need to help her.
Right, OK. Does she have paperwork for that?
Alpha 775.
775, I've stood you down on this one now.
Unfortunately, the lady, it says she's passed away.
The son doesn't want CPR to commence.
A DNAR in place.
Roger, all received. Thank you.
Aw.
I know.
Aw, that's sad, isn't it? Mm.
I've never known you to not be all right.
I'm getting upset.
You OK?
You're linking it back to yourself, aren't you?
Yeah.
I'll be all right now.
I have been to DOAs since I've lost my mum,
but I don't think I've been to a female, a mum.
Yeah, a mum.
And the son's found the mum.
Do you want me to go and just pull in there?
Go on, just for a little minute, then, yeah.
Do you need a hug?
Come on. We love a hug.
Alpha 775.
Alpha 775, go ahead.
Oh, yeah, just to let you know, we're all ready now.
I did get a little bit emotional.
But I'm all ready for our next job now, thank you.
Are you OK? Over.
Yeah, I'm fine.
These things happen, don't they? But you've just got to get over it.
But, yeah, I'm fine now, thank you.
We've got persons trapped.
Persons trapped, love.
Walton Breck, RTC.
Chris is immediately dispatched to manage the scene
of the road traffic accident.
He's six minutes away, and he'll be joined by Emily and Jo.
Romeo 663.
Chris, this is an RTC.
It originally came in as persons trapped,
and it looks like the car's rolled over.
We've got Alpha 775 on the way, ETA eight.
Roger, thanks.
Emily and Jo are 11 minutes from the patient.
It's probably just the weather. Look at it.
It's absolutely pouring down.
Looks like the Fire are here already.
Hello. Hi, I'm Chris.
She was the driver.
She's a little bit confused.
No actual visible signs of any injuries.
Can I have a feel of your neck? Is that OK?
No pain anywhere down your neck or your spine, love?
No? Definitely not?
OK.
I take it you had your seat belt on?
Yeah.
Oh, God. It's on its roof. On its roof.
She's on the floor, on the right.
So, I've literally only got here myself.
She's been the driver,
she's hit a stationary car and flipped her car.
She says she hasn't got any pain - no injuries yet.
What's caused it to flip? Do we know?
She's driving very slowly and she's just literally
gone into this car and it's just flipped.
OK, no problem.
Do you want to get on the ambulance, out the rain,
and we'll have a look at you properly there?
This happened to me a few weeks ago in an ambulance.
It flipped over.
And I didn't stop crying for about four hours.
I looked like a pig after it.
You know what, you've had a lucky escape there, haven't you?
If we take you to the hospital, we're not going to put you
anywhere where there's any Covid patients or anything.
Yeah? All right.
Listen, I'm going to go now.
It was a pleasure to meet you, OK?
I'll leave you with the girls, then.
Romeo 663.
Romeo 663. Go ahead, over.
Yeah, thanks. You can stand the other vehicle down.
It's just minor injuries.
Oh, very lucky by the sounds of it.
Thank you very much. Over.
I remember Covid when it was in China and it was on the news.
It was quite poignant for us because it was Arrowe Park Hospital on
the Wirral that was going to house the people returning from Wuhan.
To begin with, we were all just like, "Oh, yeah, it's fine,
"there's just going to be their quarantine, and that's that."
And then, soon after, we realised
it was actually spreading into a pandemic.
For me, being on the road as a paramedic, it was scary
because it was the fear of the unknown.
No other community has been bruised like we have before.
And I feel like Covid might just be another bruise.
Alpha 641, Sarah and Mark, have just cleared their first job of the day.
Oh, got us a little treat. I'm going to kill you! Eh?
What is it?
These are on the house, mate. Was they?
Yeah, free to NHS, so I've got a selection. Aw!
There's a carrot cake in there. Is it really made out of carrot?
SHE LAUGHS It must be!
I never thought of it. I never thought of that.
Is potato cake made out of potato?
Are chips made out of chips?
THEY LAUGH
Ambulance Service, is the patient breathing?
Tell me exactly what's happened.
OK.
We'll be coming on lights and sirens for you, OK?
Sarah and Mark are immediately dispatched to the patient
struggling to breathe.
Alpha 641.
641, this is a 79-year-old female, shortness of breath, query Covid.
She does suffer with asthma and COPD. Over.
ROK, understood.
We're about four minutes away.
SIREN WAILS
Hiya, Isabel. What's happened today?
Oh, bless you.
Your heart's going quite fast. I'll have a little listen to your chest.
I can hear you working hard.
Have you been around anybody who's had coronavirus?
You've not?
How long have you lived here?
About 20 years. Have you? It's lovely, isn't it, round here?
Beautiful. Gorgeous. Beautiful.
In the summer? Oh, yes. I bet it is.
Can I take your blood pressure as well? Is that OK? Over here.
Sorry, you're all wired up, aren't you?
There's nowt on you, is there? I know.
Is it your mother, sorry?
No, no, I'm the next-door neighbour.
The neighbour. Oh, are you? OK.
Do you see Isabel quite often, do you? Are you quite close?
Do you, yeah?
How do you think she's coping?
No?
Her oxygen levels aren't massively lower than what we'd expect.
But she's breathing very fast and she's struggling.
What do you think, then? What would you like from us today?
If I can get away with not going to hozzie... Yeah.
..please keep me out.
I think me and Sarah have got a few concerns at the minute.
You are breathing quite fast.
And your oxygen levels were lower than what yours would normally be.
I think, between us, we'd like to take you into hospital.
You know? Well...
I think you know yourself as well, Isabel, don't you, my love?
That's why you've rang, isn't it?
I know it's not the place you'd want to be. I know. I know, mate.
We understand.
We couldn't leave you at home safe. I wouldn't sleep well.
No, it's not fair, is it?
Pardon?
You're not!
Not one bit, Isabel.
You're a lovely lady.
Aw, you're welcome.
Are you feeling any better with that oxygen? Is it helping you?
Yeah?
Can I just pop your belt on as well?
Let's do that side, if I can get there.
Aw, thank you. Aw, thank you.
Oh, you're welcome. It's a pleasure. It's a pleasure.
I know. Me too, Isabel.
Oh! I could murder a bacon butty as well!
ISABEL CHUCKLES
"Get back in! Get her back in!"
Get her back in, she said she'll knock the bacon butties out!
Really? Cancel, cancel!
Righto!
Brown sauce, Sarah?
Brown sauce, the works.
Isabel needs to be seen by specialists
at Warrington Hospital five miles away.
Right, it's cold, so we'll pop this over your legs.
Sorry. Right, we're just going to have to do a few little bumps now.
That were busy.
Ambulance Service. Is the patient breathing?
WOMAN CRIES
Five hours into the shift
and the team have treated 290 suspected Covid cases.
OK, is he awake?
No?
Ambulance Service. Is the patient breathing?
I'm organising help for you now.
Stay on the line, I'll tell you exactly what to do next.
The nearest available crew to the Covid-positive patient is Emily
and Jo, who have just finished their fifth call-out of the day.
# When the going gets tough
# The tough gets going. #
Alpha 775.
775, you're going to a Cat 2 call, 43-year-old female,
low oxygen, chest pain, shortness of breath.
There's no backup on this, so just yourselves there. Thank you.
Roger that, all received. Thanks very much. Over.
AMBULANCE: 999 mode activated.
Back to Covid. Oh, dear me.
For a 43-year-old so she's not very old.
Yeah. She is young.
Hello.
I'm Emily, this is Joanne.
How can we help? What's been going on?
She has difficulty breathing as well as low oxygen.
Her oxygen was 85 today.
She tested positive on 9th January. OK.
And her temperature is always high, between 39 and 40.
Okey doke.
I've got deja vu. It was your dad here last time. Yes.
And your brother. Yeah. Now he's back home today.
Oh, is that the brother? Yes. Yeah.
How long have these symptoms been going on?
9th January. Since the 9th?
Yes.
Is anything different today? Just the oxygen levels are lower?
Yes.
Oh, isn't she good?
Yeah, you have, haven't you?
I don't think, at the moment, she needs to go in.
Her oxygen levels were 96% then,
so that's normal for...what we class as normal.
I think you're doing the right stuff, regular paracetamol.
OK, I'll go out and speak to our doctor and do some paperwork, OK?
All right, thank you. All right.
You're welcome. I'll be back in a second.
Hiya, it's North West Ambulance. Can we refer a patient to you, please?
Hi, Doctor. So, basically, the whole family
are actually Covid-positive at the minute.
The call today was for the mum,
so she's been checking her oxygen levels at home
and noted that the Sats were 85%, so called us.
When we've got to scene,
on our machine her Sats are 95, 96.
Yeah.
That's perfect, Doctor. Yeah, thank you very much.
Um... I've been better.
I'm a bit exhausted with all this Covid at the minute,
but I'm all right.
Thank you.
Hello. I've spoke to the doctor again.
He's happy for your mum to stay here.
Anything worsens or you get worried, you can go through 111
or, obviously, ourselves. All right?
No problem, take care.
Let's see where the wind takes us now, eh?
The wind...or the storm?
Covid storm.
When I was little, we used to play hospitals
and obviously we used to have the doctor with the patient.
I had my little stethoscope and my briefcase.
I have always wanted to help people.
And I think being able to do that in Liverpool is more special
because it's where my friends are, where my family is,
where I've grown up.
It's everything that I care about.
It's my home.
We need to check his breathing, OK?
Right, what about the gentleman there that helped you pull him
to the floor? He's gone?
So there's no-one else there?
We would advise, obviously, she stays where she is
to get assessed by the crew.
So does she want an ambulance?
Call volume has doubled
and Control are answering a new 999 call every 20 seconds.
There are now 258 patients waiting for an ambulance.
There's loads of Cat 3s, absolutely millions of them.
With wait times for calls increasing, managers are trying
to assess how the service will cope as the storm intensifies.
The river levels at the moment are rising.
We had 18 flood alerts in Lancashire and five flood alerts in Cumbria.
It is not my intention to declare a major incident at this point.
This is floods, this is not fun.
This is not fun for our staff trying to respond, trying to get to work.
You all heard it from the horse's mouth now - for the next 48 hours,
we've got potential for this flood to continue.
Difficult times. I completely appreciate that everyone's shattered
in terms of Covid, so we are going to try and keep this as tight
as possible and make sure that we respond to our patients
in a timely manner and keep our staff safe.
Emily and Jo are on scene at their third Covid call of the shift.
We've got out-of-hours GPs that do deal with Covid patients.
Hiya, it's North West Ambulance Service.
Can we refer a patient, please?
I've tried...
I've tried to phone the doctor's.
She said, "We don't deal with Covid patients."
OK, thank you. Bye.
Aw, look at that.
Aw, thank you. Aw, that's lovely.
Thank you so much.
Aw!
Are you crying?
Just, like, really gets to you, doesn't it?
I just think it's just been such a hard day today, everything.
I've got a Covid apron, Covid hands.
Oh. This day has, like, been every emotion, hasn't it?
When the pandemic started,
I went from being taught in a classroom how to be a paramedic
to being on the front line.
And it WAS overwhelming.
We've been, literally, in these people's houses.
We've got a mask and an apron to protect us.
I knew this was going to be hard,
but I don't think anyone saw this coming.
Surely it can't get any worse.
Alpha 775.
Alpha 775, thank you for today. I know it's been busy,
just job after job.
Go home, have a nice little glass of wine, have a bath.
So, thanks very much. Over.
Oh, yeah, I think it'll be more like a bottle, but we will do.
And you as well. Thanks very much. Goodnight.
Over the last 12 hours, river levels have risen.
The River Weaver at Northwich is dangerously high,
as are the River Mersey in Manchester and Warrington.
Ambulance Service. Is the patient breathing?
A further two inches of rainfall is forecast for tonight.
The Mersey's flooded its banks. Has it?
That's the least of our problems!
Parts of Didsbury are starting to evacuate.
It could affect up to 2,000 houses.
How many resources are you down in Mersey?
Wow. Okey dokey.
That's Mersey up shit creek without a paddle.
Control commander in the Roc, Matt, is making last-minute preparations
as the bad weather begins to take hold of the north-west.
Extremely busy down here at the moment,
multiple phone calls going out.
Cheshire and Mersey, a lot of road closures over there.
The concern for me is the fact that the response time
is going to be massively delayed.
The flooding on the way in's ridiculous on the roads.
I was debating whether to wear my swimming gear and snorkel,
you know, just in case I couldn't get in!
THEY LAUGH
Dispatchers Kath and Rich will be part of the team looking after
72 ambulances across Merseyside tonight.
Alpha 462, good evening.
I've got 40 calls uncovered waiting just on my desk,
so it looks like it's going to be a busy night again
so, sorry, but you're going to be straight out.
RADIO NEWS: 1,820 more coronavirus-related deaths
have been confirmed in the UK for the last 24 hours,
a new record high.
God, that's quite scary, actually.
Even with the vaccine and even with everything...
Yeah, I know. Yeah. ..it's the daily high today.
BORIS JOHNSON: These figures are appalling
and I must stress we have tough weeks to come.
You look at these figures and go, "When's it going to stop?"
Oh, yeah.
It's like... Deflated. I feel deflated.
I mean, this vaccine's being rolled out, so hopefully that's going to...
Definitely. I think so. It's got to be, hasn't it?
You've got to be positive, haven't you?
BEEPING What is it saying now?
Please be aware... Amber weather warning. There's meant to be a storm coming.
MUSIC PLAYS
# Highway to the danger zone
# Danger zone! #
Alpha 304, Kerry and Quinton, have just started their night shift.
That's snow!
That's snow! That is snow! That is snow!
# Beggin' you to touch and go
# Highway to the danger zone
# Danger zone! #
MUSIC OFF
Alpha 304.
Alpha 304, this little job for you here - bless her -
she's a 48-year-old female, she's had a fall.
Originally, we had a call in at just gone three o'clock.
And it was a lower category.
This lady does seem in some distress.
She does have muscular dystrophy.
She's hurt her back, her leg and her hip.
Let me know how you get on with this one. Over.
Oh, I will do, mate. Thank you.
Oh, bless her.
So, essentially, she's been waiting for five hours.
We'll look after her. We will do. We'll go and see.
Oh, what's he doing?
Oh! Pulling in here, pulling in here!
Oh, what are you doing?! We're on blue lights, mate!
Seriously?! What, can he not wait? What's wrong with people?
This is an emergency job, like!
What are they doing?!
Honest to God!
Oh, it's cold! Oh!
Hello!
Hi, Cally.
Hey, listen, don't you apologise.
What's happened, my love, eh?
How did you fall?
You missed that? Have you banged your head at all?
Is it more here, the pain?
Not in the middle? CALLY YELLS
Ah, we have got C-spine pain. C-spine pain? Yeah.
So, if you keep your head still for us. Keep your head very still.
With fears of a spinal injury, the crew on scene
must stabilise the patient to avoid long-term damage.
Alpha 304, go ahead.
Is it OK if we get a second crew here just for a lift?
A rule for C-spine in. That's all received.
I'll get someone over to you as soon as I can.
Lovely, thank you.
CALLY SOBS I know, darling.
Bless you.
I think last time I came to you, you'd had a fall as well.
I know you've got muscular dystrophy, haven't you?
Deep breaths.
I know, I know it hurts.
I remember when we came here last time,
you'd been making stuff for us NHS staff.
Do you do knitting?
The scrubs? Boss.
I remember.
Hello, hello. Hello.
Hi, Robin. Good to see you.
Right, everyone ready?
Yep. Yep? On three. One, two, three.
CALLY GROANS
Sorry, sweetie. CALLY: Sorry.
Watch your step. Stop saying sorry.
Almost seven hours after her fall,
Cally is finally on her way to hospital.
Hey, you're amazing, you know.
You are, you're smashing this. I know you're in a lot of pain,
but you're dealing with it like a boss, OK?
OK?
You're an Evertonian? SHE LAUGHS
That's why you can handle the pain, isn't it?
Get you sorted, OK?
Don't let go of your hand?
OK.
All right, my darling.
Cally, Cally, breathe through it.
Just keep going.
We're going to get you sorted. OK?
And thank you for all the work you've done for the NHS.
Yeah, you've been amazing making us all those scrubs as well.
Thank you so much.
As the weather worsens, there are 299 patients
waiting for an ambulance, and new calls continue to flood in.
Are you inside the vehicle at the moment?
We don't want you inside it if it's in floodwater.
Ambulance. Is the patient breathing?
All right, OK.
Hi, have you seen there's 334 calls waiting?
And I've just been on an hour on chest pain.
Bear with me. What I'm going to do is just highlight this call
and see if we can get the next available ambulance out to her, OK?
We are dealing with a huge amount of calls at the moment
and I appreciate you've been waiting a long time already.
The longest wait for an ambulance is 18 hours.
How long have you had the chest pain for?
Is it flooding?
Hiya, you're getting flooding. 30 properties being evacuated. OK.
Fire on scene and we're required as well.
I do apologise about the delays.
Crewmates Emily and Jo have just finished
their first job of the night shift.
BEEPING
775.
Alpha 775, thank you. I've just sent through a job for you, a Cat 2.
Been in since quarter past nine, this one.
A 72-year-old female with a ringing noise in her ears.
Patient says she's been having this for the past three years.
She also had a fall on Monday and has a back injury.
I'll leave you to get to the bottom of it
and hopefully you can solve it.
Be interesting.
I'm sure we can. We'll solve anything, us two.
Emily and Jo are nine minutes from their patient.
Hiya.
Hiya, Anne. I'm Emily, this is Joanne.
What it was, she had a fit on Monday
in bed about three o'clock in the morning.
She got up later on to go to the toilet herself.
And I couldn't get her actually back into bed.
I banged my head.
And she's been in absolute agony over her back since. OK, my love.
Do you have high blood pressure, Anne?
No. It's quite high at the moment.
Do you feel a bit stressed?
It's also my ear.
Oh, yeah, we heard about your ear.
Are you giving her earache?
I'm getting the bleeding earache! LAUGHTER
I keep my mouth shut!
Who loves Elvis? I know.
Me.
Do you? Do you sing like him?
Go on, give us a song, then.
# It's now or never... #
Go on! What's the rest?
# Come hold me tight... #
Right.
# Kiss me, my darling
# Be mine tonight. #
She keeps saying that, you know,
every night when we go to bed. Aw.
Oh, Anne, why are you so upset? What's wrong, Anne?
It's just I've had this pain.
Is it the pain that's making you...?
And with yous having so much business on.
Well, Anne, don't worry! Everyone'll get seen to!
Well, all you hear on the radio
is all of this every time.
Yeah, we are very busy. I know.
But we're still here for the likes of you.
It doesn't mean that you can't phone for us.
How long ago was that photo?
Well, we've been here 31 years this month.
31 years, so it must be about... You deserve a medal, Anne!
LAUGHTER
FAINT MUSIC
What's that noise?
That's what I'm hearing!
You're not hearing that, girl, that's real!
What is it? What's that noise, Albert?
I don't know.
Can you hear it? Listen.
It's not the... The washing machine's not on.
It's... It reminds me of, um... MUFFLED LAUGHTER
..when you've got your central heating on.
Yeah. Doesn't it? Yeah.
Well, that's what I'm hearing. I've heard this for three years.
SHE LAUGHS
Honest! That's a real noise! I can hear it.
Do you know what, Anne? It sounded like it was coming from over there.
No, I've got my telly off.
You get all kinds of noises in this house anyway.
I think you're setting that up, Albert.
LAUGHTER
Oh!
I know what it is, though. LAUGHTER
It's Elvis humming a song!
LAUGHTER
Which? Elvis humming...
He's answering your bloody singing! Yeah!
It sounded like Elvis, really.
Have you got, like, a toy somewhere that's doing it?
Yeah, that's gone 11 o'clock.
Oh, that's what the noise was, then! That sings.
That's what we could hear. I knew it was Elvis!
I told you I could hear Elvis.
Your blood pressure's gone a bit better.
So what are you going to do the rest of your evening, now?
Are you going to put some of that Deep Heat on it? Get some Deep Heat on. Yes.
All right, then, Anne. Lovely to meet you, Anne.
We're going to leave you, eh? OK, thank you.
You take care, lovely. Sorry for dragging you out...
Don't worry. ..when you've got worse things to... It's OK.
..with this stuff that's on the telly.
Oh, we know that. Stop worrying about that pigging thing. No, no.
Forget about that.
There's no other news anywhere in the world.
I know. And it gets people worried. It's all right.
I can't help but worry.
Keep on top of your painkillers for your sore back.
Give your GP a call about the occupational therapist
because you need some aid done in your house, all right?
Lovely to meet you. And it's lovely.
Thanks for coming. Oh, bye, Albert. Sorry for dragging you out...
OK. It's OK. ..when you've got a busy night.
You take care now. Bye.
Goodnight.
Get yourself in, Anne, it's cold out here.
Bye-bye, lovely.
Bye! You go in out of the cold now.
Bye-bye.
She's got a lot going on by the sounds of it.
She's quite tearful, wasn't she? Oh, yeah.
Oh, Emily, when that noise started!
EMILY LAUGHS
The Elvis clock telling us it's on the hour! Honestly!
Oh, God!
She'll probably ring back at 12 o'clock! I know!
"I've got that noise again!" Oh, bless her.
Is that you coughing or her coughing?
Has he had more than one fit in a row?
It's five hours into the shift and road closures
and diversions are slowing response times.
I'm just going to tell you how to help deliver the baby
if it gets to that, OK?
You're in the highest priority, all right?
So they are coming on lights and sirens.
She's been waiting over three hours for an ambulance,
and cardiac pain.
And we haven't been able to get out to her.
They've moved to severe down there at the moment
in Didsbury and Northenden so there's a risk to life.
I mean, the snow's coming down now as well, Jed, so, um...
..that wasn't in the plans! CHUCKLES
We just got an update that's come through from the Met Office.
We've got immediately life-threatening flood area warnings.
We're keeping an eye on it anyway and we'll keep you updated.
Ambulance Service. Is the patient breathing?
OK.
I've got a little job here.
Just wondering if you'd do a little drive past to check it for us.
It's a 94-year-old, alarm activated, no response.
One of the neighbours has subsequently rang back
and said that she can hear her shouting for help.
Oh, yeah, no worries, send it through.
Paramedic Chris is just eight minutes from the patient.
Hello, thank you. Are you her neighbour?
OK, I've got the number to her key safe.
Lil, it's the ambulance.
Ah, good, you have a key.
Break the door down!
What's happened?
I spilled a cup of tea all over me. Yeah?
So I got up and I got my clean pyjamas. Yeah?
And I got the bottom off
and I slipped off the bed.
You slipped off here and landed on your bottom?
I slipped off the end. OK.
So you've not banged your head? No, no.
No? No, I've got me marbles. And you've not hurt yourself?
I've hurt my bum. Just your bum from the fall? Yeah. OK.
This hip, it's all damaged here.
From an old injury? Yeah. OK. Fractured.
You're in an awkward position, darling, aren't you? I know.
On three, yeah? Yeah.
One, two, three.
Oh, thank you.
Oh, I'm glad you've come. I'm here now, don't worry.
What took you so long to get me?
You know, cos this virus that's going around, it's really busy.
I've got my pants to match these on my bed.
All right, do this leg first, darling.
OK, I'll do the other one, eh?
Do you want a bit of steak?
A bit of steak?
Sirloin. Oh!
I'm OK for now, thanks.
I've got some sirloin in the freezer.
Oh, eh! Do you want some for your supper? Posh!
Oh, I'm OK, thank you. Are you? But thanks anyway.
You're not allowed, are you?
I can't eat when I'm on shift.
What's your name? Chris. I'm Lil.
Nice to meet you, darling. And you.
You're an angel. An angel?
Yeah. Aw.
I've got nobody.
My daughter lives in Stavanger, Norway.
In Norway?
And she can't get home cos... She lives there,
but she can't get home because...
Cos of all this virus malarkey?
..the plane's been cancelled three times.
Yeah? Oh.
Yeah. That's my good neighbour.
She's from Iraq. She's a nice lady, isn't she?
She's my neighbour. Yeah? And she takes care of you?
So you've definitely not got any injuries from the fall?
I think I've broke my hip again!
Which hip is sore? That one.
Can you kick your leg out?
Not very much.
And can you kick out this one?
Oh, there's nothing wrong with that. Do the can-can?
I can kick your arse.
Kick my arse?! HE CHUCKLES
Can I lie you back on the bed so I can look at that leg properly?
Yeah. Is that OK? Yeah.
Oh, that's heaven!
Can you just straighten your body, though, a little bit for me?
You're a corker, you, aren't you?
The pain's here, is it? Yeah.
All right. Have you ever had this hip replaced?
Yeah. Yeah? Years ago. How long ago?
Oh, many years. I forget now. OK.
Two hips and a knee replaced.
OK.
Romeo 663.
Romeo 663, go ahead.
Cheers, mate. I'm going to need a vehicle on this one, please.
She's querying neck of femur.
Understood.
I'll get someone to you as quick as I can.
Oh, that's great. Thanks for your help.
Oh, did you used to go there all the time, did you?
Yeah. Half my living room's from there.
Half your living room's from the market?
Yeah. HE CHUCKLES
And Kensington market.
Did you used to go down Greatie as well?
No. Never went down there?
I got some knickers from there.
Some knickers from the market?
Yeah. Tell you what, Lil, you might have broke your hip,
but there's nothing wrong with your gob, is there?
No! HE CHUCKLES
Two more handsome men for you to have a little flirt with.
Hello, love! Hello, love.
Do you have a collection box?
A collection box?
No, we don't, love.
Why, what are you going to put in it? The sirloin steak?
I've got a load of change. Aw.
One, two, three.
Good job you were here.
What's your name?
It's half one in the morning, isn't it?
You are? Always looking out?
You know everything?
Yeah?
That's good. It's good to have a neighbour like you.
Scousers welcome anyone in.
We'll talk to anyone, have a little gab and be there for you.
Almost like that feeling of being in it together.
Romeo 663, go ahead, Chris.
Cheers, mate. Just a little update on little Lil, then.
She was a feisty 94-year-old.
She'd slipped off the bed
and maybe fractured her hip or her femur.
The crew have just took her to Aintree for an X-ray now.
Well, that's good that the neighbour could hear and did something about it, isn't it?
She's got a good set of lungs on her, then, for shouting.
Thanks for your help and we'll see what else we can find for you now.
No worries, mate. Send one through when you're ready.
I think Scousers use humour and banter as a way of coping.
We've just got this fighting spirit.
We've overcome things in the past,
so there's no reason why we can't overcome Covid as well.
Now, there's floods in Cheshire and Warrington
been causing loads of calls. Is the motorway still closed?
Both directions. Really? Yeah.
I'm sure you're aware,
flooding overnight in Warrington has been absolutely horrendous.
It was just chocker all night.
Alpha 641, just head back for your meal, if you don't mind. Over.
We will do. Thank you.
Sarah and Mark have just cleared from taking
their last patient to Aintree hospital.
# Leaving on a jet plane
# I don't know when I'll be back again, leaving
# On a jet plane. #
Alpha 641.
Alpha 641, you haven't even dined yet.
This has come in as an 86-year-old male.
He's fallen down the stairs, he's unconscious.
We've got Andy on for myself tonight if you need him.
Righto. Oh.
He's stopped breathing, Kath. Oh, he's stopped breathing?
Patient's gone into cardiac arrest now. Over.
Yeah, all received. Thanks, Kath.
Is that...? Is that closed, Sarah?
Yeah, it must be. It must be flooded.
Oh, you're fucking messing!
Everywhere's flooded. This is awful, innit?
Every minute's... The roads are flooded.
..10% less chance of survival. Yeah, yeah.
Oh, you're taking the piss!
Do you want me to get out and move the posts?
Yeah, we're doing this left.
Hi, there's a couple of roads closed due to the flooding
so we've had to make a detour.
Yeah, all noted. Thanks. Over.
We've got a bit of delay because of road floods.
The average target response time for Category 1 calls is seven minutes,
but flood diversions have added at least five minutes
onto Sarah and Mark's journey.
And two miles away, another high-priority call is in progress.
Is she breathing?
OK, we're organising help for you. Just stay on the line.
How old is the patient?
OK. Lay her flat on her back
and remove anything from under the head.
I'm going to tell you how to do chest compressions, OK?
Alpha 775, I've just sent through a job for you.
It's a female, not breathing, cardiac arrest.
I'm just going to get you some backup.
I'll allocate someone and let you know.
CPR's in progress.
I'll grab the monitor and the bag and just run in.
My heart's going like 100 million beats.
Emily and Jo are one mile from the patient
and paramedic Chris is also en route.
Romeo 663?
CPR in progress now, no other details at the moment. Over.
I'm probably about ten minutes out.
CONTROL: Pump her chest hard and fast
at least twice per second and two inches deep.
Brilliant.
Count out loud so I can count with you, OK?
There you go, you're doing really well.
Where is she?
When did you last see her?
I saw her a couple of hours ago.
OK. All right.
She has, I'm afraid.
Is it your relative?
OK. How old is she?
OK.
This is a DOA. You can just stand anyone else down. Thank you.
Listen to me. Yeah?
My name's Emily, I'm a paramedic. OK.
OK. Unfortunately, she has passed away. I know.
HE SOBS
OK. All right. I'm really sorry.
What's happened? Has she been unwell?
She's had a bad wheezy chest, breathing dead heavy all the time.
All right. OK.
And were you in bed? Where were you?
I was asleep and I just turned round
and tried to wake her up and she just...
Can we get anything for you?
I'll have to phone her mum.
We'll do it for you. Thank you. You just get yourself settled.
I'm really sorry I've had to tell you over the phone.
James wanted us to call you and tell you.
Does her mum live on her own?
Yeah, she's an only child.
Oh.
We're going to stay here...
We're going to stay here for a little while so you take your time.
OK, lovely. I'm really sorry.
Is there someone we can ring for you to come and support you as well?
HE SOBS My sister's coming now.
Is your sister coming as well? Yeah.
All right, OK, mate.
HE SOBS
Can I kiss her?
Of course you can.
HE SOBS
Oh, my baby!
Why's this happened to you?
HE SOBS
JAMES SOBS AND MUMBLES
What am I going to do now? What am I going to do?
HE SOBS
HE SOBS AND MUMBLES
Two miles away, Sarah and Mark have just cleared
from their patient in cardiac arrest.
Alpha 641, do you have an update on that job? Over.
Yes, we do, thanks, Kath. Um...
Terribly sad, sad call, that were.
The patient's unfortunately passed away.
We did everything we could.
Oh, Alpha 641, it's not a nice one to finish your shift on, is it?
Thank you very much for tonight.
Thanks again and hope you have a good rest.
That wasn't very nice, was it?
40 years of age.
So young.
So young and so...
..unusual, isn't it?
Shall we get ourselves back to station, eh?
Let's get home.
# When you walk
# Through a storm
# Hold your head up high... #
Ta-ra, love.
Night, all. See you.
# And don't be afraid
# Of the dark... #
Every NHS staff member there feels tired,
but we don't feel broken.
# At the end... #
We're going to get back to normal.
# Of the storm... #
We're going to get everyone's life back on track.
# There's a golden sky... #
There have been days where I thought,
"Oh, I can't do this any more."
# And the sweet silver song... #
But it's going to take more than a global pandemic
to make me give up on the job that I've always wanted to do.
I'll never let it beat me.
I think that I will look after people
probably for the rest of my life.
# Walk on
# With hope in your heart
# And you'll never walk alone
# And you'll never walk alone. #