AMBULANCE: S05E03

Ambulance
Series 5 / Episode 3
Thursday 18 June 2020
BBC One
21:00

​A DRAGONFLY TELEVISION AND FILM PRODUCTION

NARRATOR: Christopher Eccleston
DIRECTOR: Stuart Froude
SERIES PRODUCER: Michael Ogden
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Tom Currie / Simon Ford

It’s a big weekend for the city of Liverpool with thousands of extra visitors expected to flood into The New York of Europe to attend the Grand National weekend, for race of the season.  North West (England) Ambulance Service is putting on extra resources to cover the event as well as care for all the people of Merseyside.

Paramedic crew and sisters Danielle and Stacey are stationed at Aintree racecourse for Ladies' Day, while Chelsey & Paul, Mo & Tony, and Anthony & Mandy are on the road ready to serve those not at the races.

Mo and Tony are sent to a train station for patient who has fallen down some stairs.  It appears that Ladies' Day shenanigans have begun early - the patient tripped after checking out the ladies in their best outfits on their way to the the world's famous racecourse.

While Danielle & Stacey are in place at the starting line at Aintree, Mo & Tony are sent to another job for a baby that’s fallen from a pram.  Her mother is clearly under the influence of alcohol.  The call has come from Merseyside Constabulary after witnessing the fall on CCTV.  As Mo and Tony examine the injured child, they find the injuries are worse than first implied by the child’s mum.

Elsewhere, Anthony and Mandy are dispatched to a CAT 1 patient at a nursing home.  The patient has been found on the floor in a confused state after fainting.  With the patient having a low heart rate the crew decide it’s best to take her to the nearest medical facility for an emergency evaluation.

Over at Aintree we’re in position for the last race of the day, and it’s not long before Danielle and Stacey are sent to their first human causality after a fall from a horse.  He’s a previous winner of The Randox Health Grand National and the fall appears to have broken his ankle, so he’ll miss the big race the next day.

It’s the day of The Randox Health Grand National, one of the biggest days of the year for Liverpool and the eyes of the world are trained on the city.  Chelsey and Paul are dispatched to a five-year-old who has fallen from the sofa.  Leaving nothing to chance they transport the patient to Alder Hey Hospital.  While on the back of the ambulance the family do a call to prayer - something Chelsey joins in with as she recently converted to Islam.

Elsewhere Mo & Tony are with an elderly patient who is need of some care and attention.  It falls on Mo to offer hairdressing services and a trip to a local medical facility to be examined.  Anthony and Wendy are sent to a patient who has an injury to her foot, which is bleeding.

The excited atmosphere builds across the city as the start time for the Grand National edges closer.  Chelsey and Paul are sent to a patient with ineffective breathing, while sisters Danielle and Stacey are poised at the side of the race track to catch any of the jockeys who have disconnected from their horse.

Chelsey & Paul arrive to discover the patient is in cardiac arrest while simultaneously Daniel & Stacey get sent to a jockey who’s fallen in the big race.  We see the highs and lows of both jobs running in parallel, a vivid demonstration of what the ambulance service deal with day to day, even on a day of excitement and celebration for the city.

While the Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) is in progress for Chelsey and Paul's patient, another traumatic plea for help is received in control, this time from a frantic partner of a lady giving birth.  Whilst that call is ongoing, the resuscitation is terminated.

Back in control, the call is ongoing for the patient in labour, with the father on the line becoming more frantic - the team must help the baby to be delivered.