大象传媒

This episode covers two shifts with paramedics of West Midlands Ambulance Service, as Royal Stoke Hospital struggles to cope with the volume of patients being brought in.

A Friday night nightshift on a pay weekend in winter proves to be busy for the specialist trauma team. Matt and Ian attend a series of serious incidents, from the stabbing of a 15-year-old, to a man attacked by a machete to the head.

In Stoke, paramedics Chloe and Katie are called to 65-year-old Terrence who thinks he's having a heart attack. He's struggling to cope with life after his wife passed away three months ago, and Chloe and Katie offer a listening ear and a reassuring presence. Terrence has had ten heart attacks before, so the crew take him in to Royal Stoke Hospital to be checked over, even though they know he will have to wait alone in a corridor.

After saying goodbye to Terrence, Chloe and Katie are immediately dispatched to their next job as reports come in of a man who has taken an overdose and is walking the streets with no trousers on. Later in the shift, Chloe and Katie offer emotional support to another vulnerable patient - a woman who's taken an overdose and is intoxicated. She is a victim of domestic violence and feels worthless after being abused by her partner.

Crewmates Ozzie and Matt are dispatched to a four-day-old baby who isn't breathing, and tensions are high as they rehearse the CPR protocol for newborn babies en route. When Ozzie can't get a clear reading of the baby's heart rate, they decide they need to take her straight into resus to be checked over by doctors.

The day shift sees West Midlands Ambulance Service still struggling to cope with demand as call volumes are higher than expected. Ambulance crews are delayed at Royal Stoke Hospital, and their patients are forced to wait in long queues in hospital corridors.

Paramedics Dom and Sue are dispatched to 73-year-old Maurice, who has some nasty abdominal bruises. He discharged himself from Stoke Hospital four days earlier because he'd already been waiting over five hours to see a doctor. Dom and Sue know there will be a wait to be seen but encourage him to stick it out this time. All they can do is take him in, where he joins the growing queue of patients in the corridor.

Ambulance crew Verity and Mark are called to 91-year-old Edith, who has chest pain and is suffering a suspected heart attack. Edith has been married to her husband Albert for 72 years, but he has dementia and finds the prospect of Edith being taken in to hospital emotionally upsetting.

With an overwhelming number of patients, and a shortage of beds, Royal Stoke Hospital is on the verge of declaring a major incident, which would mean shutting their doors to ambulance crews and their patients. With the hospital under enormous pressure, Dom and Sue are called to Lesley, an elderly patient with diabetes. The crew find her dehydrated and apparently suffering a urinary infection. They have no option but to take her to hospital. With the pressure on the service and demand for their help spiralling, Dom wonders if he'll be able to continue working 12-hour shifts for the next ten years at the pace they're going.