Episode 15 First Time on the Front Line

Britain's next generation of emergency service recruits,

chosen from a pool of thousands.

Rookies like Sam, who's put in years of study to land his dream job.

I'm really becoming the paramedic that I wanted to be.

And new recruit Laura, displaying skill and courage as she starts out

as a lifeboat volunteer.

It's brilliant. You get to save people's lives. It's just incredible.

Police Special Laurence is giving up his spare time

to serve the community.

If I ever have to give this uniform back, it will be a very, very sad day.

They've survived months of intensive training...

-Come on, let's move!

-Get back!

OK, mate. Going to lift you in the boat.

They've been tested to their limits...

-Spray, spray!

-It's burning.

Stop panicking, don't worry.

..all to realise their ultimate ambitions.

It is everything I expected and more. It's such a great job.

I really landed on my feet.

Join them for their first time on the front line.

In today's programme, a rush-hour crash...

-That's a bus.

-..and Sam's biggest test yet.

Drop all the seats in here, lie her flat and take her out that way.

SHE COUGHS

Sickness at sea...

..and rescue on the river.

Laura rushes to help as a pleasure boat sinks.

And cracking down on dangerous drivers...

..Laurence and his colleagues are on the case.

-Do you know why you're being stopped?

-No.

You've just gone through a red traffic light.

In the West Midlands, Sam du Plessis Grimson's paramedic career

is three months old.

He's been trained to handle everything -

from critically ill casualties

to major incidents,

and he's treated dozens of patients.

But Sam's had no serious car crashes to deal with, until today.

It's just after 9am in Birmingham,

and Sam's on duty with colleague Ben Hart.

They're responding to a 999 call following a road traffic collision.

We've got an RTC come through,

but we're not too far from it now.

As they arrive, the scale of the accident rapidly becomes apparent.

It's a bus!

The crash happened in rush hour at one of the city's busiest roundabouts.

The police are already on scene.

Do you know what's happened?

OK, all right then.

The bus passengers are unharmed, but the driver of the car,

Jatinder, has been left stunned by the collision.

Have you got any pain in your neck or back at all?

It's just your neck?

She is scared to move for fear of damaging her neck.

I'm just going to have a little feel down and I want you to tell me if it hurts - just say yes or no.

Don't nod your head or anything.

There? When I'm pressing there?

If her spinal cord is damaged, any movement could leave her paralysed.

-There you go, how's that?

-Yeah.

-A bit better? Comfortable, OK.

She needs to be freed urgently.

But in this heavy traffic, there's a serious risk of another collision.

Sam calls in backup.

We're going to have to get the Fire Service to cut her out of the car.

Hi, just single patient complaining of neck pain, central,

so we're going to need Fire to extricate.

The crash scene is causing a major traffic jam -

the Fire Service has to come via a longer route.

Sounds like them now.

As lead paramedic, Sam is accountable for his patient,

which means the fire crew must work to his instruction.

It's a huge responsibility for the 22-year-old rookie.

Are we OK stabilising her as she is?

Yeah. If we get another person holding a little bit lower,

so we can slide the board in-between.

The firefighters get ready to cut the car in two,

but Sam wants the driver freed quicker.

What we can do, we can actually drop all the seats in here

and lie her flat, put her on the board and take her out that way.

It's the first time Sam's directed a fire crew.

That will do, that will do, yeah.

They inch the driver out on his orders - safely and successfully.

Fantastic. Straps on my right.

Can we get the straps on first?

Hello, Jatinder! How are we feeling?

A bit dizzy. You know we're just doing this as a precaution?

Jatinder needs an X-ray as soon as possible,

to see if there is damage to her neck or spine.

She's delivered to A&E within minutes.

Sam responded well to his first RTC.

When we got there,

it was quite dramatic seeing there were loads of cars going around

and broken glass everywhere.

Got the Fire Service out to give us a hand with that, and I've not had that before.

That'll do, yeah.

You have to be adaptable to be able to make the decision and stick with it.

So yeah, really good.

70 miles away in Cheshire, schoolteacher Martin Toner

has been giving his free time to serve as an unpaid police special.

In his first few shifts, he's arrested a man accused of assault

and cracked down on antisocial behaviour.

His next task - removing dangerous drivers from the road.

Today, Martin and his constable tutor, Tim Williams,

are taking part in Operation Contender -

a Cheshire Police campaign targeting reckless drivers

at accident black spots.

On this road, there have been 22 fatalities, I think they said in the briefing this morning.

So, yeah, it's very, very dangerous.

200,000 people are killed or injured on Britain's roads every year.

Today, when a speeding motorist is spotted,

it's Martin's job to stop the vehicle.

And it doesn't take long before he's called into action.

In a 30mph zone, we got him at 39 miles an hour.

Is this your vehicle?

You're an insured driver in it, are you? Brilliant stuff.

But speeding motorists are just one type of menace on our roads.

Operation Contender also aims to stamp out another.

We've got a plain spotter car further up the road.

They will look at drivers going past, making sure they're not on mobile phones.

The spotters soon see a driver on his phone at the wheel

and radio their colleagues to stop him.

The dark green one?

Martin pulls him over.

As Tim issues the driver with a ticket,

Martin decides to do some extra police work.

Can I get a PNC vehicle check, please?

He runs the rule over the driver and the vehicle.

Insurance is not held, right, OK.

-Apparently the insurance is not held.

-OK, no problem.

Every week in Britain,

the police seize 2,500 uninsured cars.

The man may try to pass the buck,

but, as the driver, he is legally responsible for the car on the road.

A car he'll be going no further in today.

If he wasn't on his phone, we would never have spotted the fact he wasn't insured.

Obviously, we found out and we have seized the vehicle,

so just waiting for it to be picked up now.

Martin's decision to carry out the extra checks paid off.

His mentor is impressed.

It will be his first official ticket and his first official vehicle seizure for no insurance.

It's a good result for Martin on this operation.

Martin's Specials career has only just begun, but he's already

showing the quick thinking he'll need to succeed in a role he loves.

It's been absolutely brilliant. Going through training,

actually being here and doing the job now, it's been great.

The RNLI responds to emergencies all around the country's coastline

and major inland waters, rescuing 8,000 people every year.

OK, contact.

The charity's highly trained volunteers put their own lives on the line to save others.

How is everybody, all right?

One of their newest recruits - Laura Bland.

32-year-old Laura's day job is extremely demanding.

I'm an A&E doctor.

I'm training at West Middlesex Hospital, having done acute care, anaesthetics and intensive care,

and now back in A&E, where my heart lies, and enjoying every minute.

Laura's heart also lies with the RNLI.

She regularly volunteers for her local lifeboat crew.

It's brilliant and you get to save people's lives. It's just incredible.

And Laura's about to receive further training on how to do just that,

at the RNLI's state-of-the-art college in Poole, Dorset.

You will enter the water, vent your suits, we'll make our way on board,

crew numbers one, two, three.

New lifeboat recruits from all over the country are on an intensive week-long course.

They've already learned how to rescue a man overboard,

how to use maritime equipment...

Give it a little bit of a shake to get it going.

..and how to survive a capsize.

I have to say, it looked horrendous, and I was dreading it.

But, really, nowhere near as bad as expected.

But the young Londoner is about to face her biggest challenge yet -

a training exercise on the open sea.

We need to make sure we are as well equipped and up with our knowledge as possible.

The recruits set off along the coast at high speed.

They're about to be tested on whether they can manoeuvre

the boat close enough to the cliff face to pick up a stranded casualty.

LAURA COUGHS

But there's a problem.

The swell of the English Channel is proving too much for Laura.

The dangerous exercise can't go ahead until she's ready.

Every crew member has to be fully focused.

Yeah.

Laura soon realises she must ignore her seasickness and get to work.

Her role is to check for rocks beneath the surface

as they carefully inch towards the jagged cliff face.

There's no room for error.

Clear! Clear!

-Are we OK, Laura?

-Yeah!

-Can't hear you.

-Sorry. Clear!

Three gorges!

-Half paddle!

-Laura successfully guides them

to within a metre of the cliff face - close enough to pull a casualty aboard.

-Lovely jubbly. Take a seat. Good to go, guys?

-Yeah.

The exercise has gone well and Laura delivered when it mattered,

bravely overcoming her seasickness in the process.

I think a little bit too soon after lunch.

And there aren't many waves. I have really no excuse whatsoever.

Six months on, and Laura's volunteered for duty with the RNLI's busiest crew,

based at the Tower Lifeboat Station on the Thames.

And it's their most hectic night of the year.

So, tonight being New Year's Eve, we don't know what's coming.

We could be called to absolutely anything on the river.

Who knows? But we're looking forward to it.

Laura's been joined by a special crew mate -

her partner of 18 months, Paul Savage.

I must just be a complete and utter saddo,

because the concept of New Year's Eve on the Thames doing lifeboat work

with my fiancee, I couldn't think it'd be better.

The couple are devoted to the RNLI, as well as to each other.

Paul even proposed to Laura in a dry suit and life jacket,

while on shift three months earlier.

It's just happened. It's sparkly and it's all mine!

Now they're spending their first New Year's Eve as an engaged couple on joint duty.

Are you ready to party tonight?!

Every December 31st, more than a quarter of a million revellers

line the banks of the Thames.

Another 12,000 join the celebrations in boats on the river.

The RNLI work alongside the river police

and coastguard throughout the night.

-RADIO:

-"London Coastguard, London Coastguard."

-We are heading inbound above Westminster Bridge.

-"OK."

The evening is going without incident,

until, suddenly, everything changes.

A mayday is the highest level of distress.

It means lives are in danger.

The crew race to the scene.

A pleasure boat is sinking.

Passengers have been pulled aboard another vessel,

but there's panic and confusion.

Some of those rescued have been drinking,

and establishing the facts is difficult.

Other passengers may still be trapped inside the sinking vessel.

Can you confirm all people are off that vessel?

The skipper on the boat has said everyone's got off,

yet a number of ten has come up

and we're just trying to confirm everything.

Seven people have been rescued.

If ten were on board, that means three are missing

and the situation suddenly becomes critical.

Straightaway, Laura thoroughly checks the cabin of the sinking vessel.

If anyone is trapped inside, this is the last chance to get them out.

It's good news. Laura's confirmed no-one is still on board.

With everyone definitely safe, the crew can return to base.

That's as close as anyone really needs to get to saving somebody out of the river.

You can see how quickly things become quite chaotic,

just in trying to get the information that you need.

For the remainder of the night,

there are no more incidents to deal with.

Laura and Paul can relax

and enjoy the fireworks from the best seats in the house.

In Birmingham, Sam's on a new shift with ambulance technician Tom Cheal.

They're racing to a life-threatening emergency.

A female of 88 who's probably having a stroke.

It just says "probable stroke". It doesn't give us any other information,

just that she's breathing and conscious.

The longer stroke patients are left untreated,

the greater the risk of damage to the brain.

Every minute counts.

We're just making sure that we get there

quickly enough that we're able to get the patient to hospital,

if they are having a stroke.

-Hello.

-Hello.

-Hello, sir.

The patient is called Jeet.

Her son Jay found her collapsed in her front room, unable to speak.

What time did you find her on the floor, sir?

About quarter to 11.

Sam must diagnose if Jeet has suffered a stroke.

Can you squeeze my hand for me?

Squeeze both hands.

-She's not suffered from anything like this before?

-No.

Jeet's weak grip confirms Sam's fears.

She has had a stroke, within the last two and a half hours now,

so she is still sort of in the window for thrombolysis.

Thrombolysis involves the delivery of a clot-busting drug

that dissolves a blood haemorrhage in the brain.

But it's only effective if given within four hours of the stroke.

All right, my lovely.

They need to get Jeet to a specialist unit immediately.

Even though he's only a novice, Sam is staying cool under pressure.

Nice and calm. Less haste more speed.

Right when you are, mate.

SIREN SOUNDS

Sam ensures Jay realises the seriousness of the situation.

She is having a stroke. We are going to get there as quickly as we can

and, hopefully, go from there.

Nearly there, my love.

Within 15 minutes, they arrive at the specialist stroke unit.

The paramedics did all they could do for their desperately ill patient,

but just a short time later, Jeet passed away.

In reality, a large part of our job is, unfortunately, dealing with bereavement.

It has to be something you do on your own.

You have to find your own coping mechanism.

As long as I feel that I was able to provide the best level of care

and the most comfortable environment, then I'm happy.

And you do have to take it on board and move on from that,

because it is the nature of the job, at the end of the day.

In Cheshire, Police Special Laurence Towers is three months into his new role.

He's locked up a violent man

and dealt with a teenage shoplifter.

His next task - a Saturday-night car patrol.

Tonight, Laurence is on shift with experienced PC Phil Reeves.

Jump in and we'll get going.

Soon after heading out,

the automatic number plate recognition system flashes an alert.

There's a suspect vehicle up ahead.

After doing a check on it, it came back as having no MOT, no tax.

Pretty much ticked all the boxes for a car that needed to be stopped.

The driver disappears down a side street, so Phil puts his foot down.

Phil calls for backup.

We lost it at the garage.

Had to do a U-turn at the garage. We lost it there.

Luckily, another patrol has spotted the same vehicle nearby.

The sergeant in the unmarked Beemer has just pulled it over.

It's Laurence's first vehicle stop -

a chance to learn how to deal with a potential road traffic offender.

Go and check the tax on the car at the front there.

-Matching the reg of the car, isn't it?

-Yeah.

And it's valid until June.

Checks reveal that the car was taxed and MOT'd just hours earlier,

which explains why it wasn't on the police national computer.

But the situation still presents an opportunity for Phil to teach Laurence a new skill.

We're going to breathalyse you.

-Are you happy to provide a sample of breath for analysis?

-Yeah.

If your breath alcohol level is above 35, you'll be arrested. All right?

So, big, deep breath.

Failing a breath test could result in a 12-month driving ban,

a £5,000 fine, or even a six-month jail sentence.

Lovely, that's done. Going to analyse that now. Sample taken.

After a matter of seconds, the result comes through.

OK, and it's zero. OK?

The driver's free to go and the officers return to their patrol.

-Let's go.

-Bang on.

But the night doesn't get any quieter.

Within minutes, Laurence spots a driver committing a dangerous offence.

This taxi has just gone through a red light, blatantly,

with a marked police car behind him. Let's go have a word with him.

When he jumped the red light, the driver's taxi van almost hit a car.

Hello, sir. Step out of the vehicle.

Go to the other side of the vehicle. Do you know why you've been stopped?

-No.

-You've just gone through a red traffic light.

-It was green.

It was red, which is why that other car cut across your path,

because they're on green.

You're a professional driver, you need to spend a bit more time watching what you're doing.

Laurence is about to book his first driver.

-Caution him, yeah? Point out the offence you've witnessed.

-Yeah.

Ask him if he'd like to make a reply to that offence.

-If he makes a reply, note that reply and ask him to sign that reply, all right?

-OK.

As a rookie, Laurence is continually assessed. He needs to get it right.

You will be reported for consideration with the question of prosecuting you

for the offence of contravening a red light. Have a good evening.

The motorist will need to attend a driver awareness course,

or face points on his licence.

Laurence played his role perfectly. His mentor likes what he's seen.

Happy days.

He's keen, he's forward, but he's brilliant.

I'm really impressed with him and I think he'll go places, I really do.

Laurence is finding volunteer policing even more rewarding than he expected.

Definitely plan on going out as much as I possibly can -

developing, getting new skills, getting new experiences.

I think if I ever have to give this uniform back, it would be a very, very sad day.

Back in Birmingham, Sam's about to go on duty

with fellow recruit and close friend Ben Pallante.

-Let's do this.

-It's like Ant and Dec!

They went through paramedic training together,

but this is the first time they've worked as a team.

And soon, a 999 comes in.

There's been a road accident and a man's seriously injured.

We don't know what speed the vehicle was going at.

If he was a pedestrian, he's got very little protection.

The rain and near-freezing temperature mean

the casualty could be suffering from the effect of the cold,

as well as injuries sustained in the accident.

Ah, there he is.

The patient, Brian, is in a bad way.

He's been hit by a car and thrown across the road.

What's occurred?

His partner Amanda is trying to comfort him.

He can't move, basically.

Sam gets a spinal board and stretcher.

Could be quite a serious injury, given the force.

Where hurts at the moment, mate?

-I'm feeling just pain in my back, at the minute.

-Right.

Brian must be immobilised. If his back is broken and he moves,

he could be paralysed.

Are you all right, Brian, yeah?

He's starting to shiver.

Unless they get him inside the ambulance soon,

he'll be at risk of hypothermia.

Keep your head still, that's it. We'll do all the movement.

Ben asks the police officers present

to help them get Brian onto the ambulance.

Put a couple of straps over, then we'll lift him onto our bed.

The young paramedics are working together like seasoned partners.

Ready, steady, roll.

OK.

-Cool.

-One, two, three.

A few bumps.

Brian is in agony.

Agh!

The crew need to get pain relief into his bloodstream.

Can I pop a needle into your arm and I'll give you some painkillers?

All right, sharp scratch, mate.

With intravenous paracetamol administered,

Sam will now drive Brian to hospital quickly...

-Happy?

-Yes. Ta, mate.

-..but carefully.

We don't want to exacerbate the injury any further.

So that's why we take it nice and smooth

and he'll feel a bit better for it.

By the time he reaches hospital,

Brian's warm, comfortable and pain-free.

Sam and Ben's teamwork has paid off,

along with their dedication, training and years of study.

If you can stomach the job and you have the drive to be a paramedic

and help people and help patients, then, yeah, this job is for you.

It's everything I expected and more. It's such a great job.

I really landed on my feet

and, you know, I can see myself doing this job for a very long time.

Just can't wait for the future, really.

Jatinder, the woman whose car was hit by a bus,

was diagnosed with concussion.

Fortunately, there's no long-term damage to her spine.

The driver whose vehicle Martin seized

purchased insurance the next day and got his car back.

But he still had to pay a fixed-penalty notice

for using a mobile phone at the wheel.

Brian had an X-ray, which confirmed no broken bones -

just severe bruising. He's making a slow recovery.

And the 23 rookies we've followed in this series

continue to go from strength to strength.

Off we go.

Contact!

We've seen them make their first arrests...

-You're under arrest.

-On suspicion of two counts of Section 39 assault.

Anything you do say may be given in evidence.

..respond to their first 999 calls...

-We've got a job, we need to go.

-Yeah.

-Need to go.

-Better go, so, all right?

..and fight their first fires.

Hello, Fire Service!

They've saved lives...

How's his airway looking?

..and put theirs on the line...

Get off me!

..as they embark on their exciting new careers.

Well done, well done.

They may have moved on,

but they'll always remember their first time on the front line.

End of the shift. Game over.