Episode 2 First Time on the Front Line

Britain's next generation of emergency service recruits,

chosen from a pool of thousands,

rookies, like Police Special Martin,

about to face his first ever shift...

'I'm excited but I'm nervous as well.'

Obviously, you never know what's going to be in store.

..and Kelly, who's dreamt of being a paramedic

since she was a young girl.

We've still got so much to learn but we're on our way.

Dave joined the RNLI so he could again experience

the companionship he enjoyed in the armed forces.

This station is fantastic, really.

Cracking banter, good, good fun.

They've survived months of intensive training...

-Come on - let's move!

-ALL:

-Get back!

OK, mate, we're going to lift you into the boat.

..they've been tested to their limits...

Spray, spray!

It's burning. Ah...

Stop panicking, don't worry.

..all to realise their dream careers.

When you save them and you bring them back, that's addictive.

Join them for their First Time On The Front Line.

In today's programme...

rookie Police Special Martin tracks down a man accused of assault.

Will he get to make his first arrest?

MACHINE BEEPS

RNLI recruit Dave is scrambled to a mayday from a sinking boat.

And new paramedic Kelly deals with two road traffic collisions -

an elderly lady injured in a car crash

and a motorcyclist who may have broken his neck.

He needs to be moved before his fuel ignites.

..as soon as possible.

21-year-old new recruit Kelly Wilkes

is completing a six-week training programme to prepare her for life

as a West Midlands Ambulance Service paramedic.

PTT is the "Push To Talk", which is the transmit button.

Kelly decided on her future career path

when she became a St John Ambulance volunteer at the age of 15.

I want something different every day,

I don't want to be doing the same type of jobs all the time,

so paramedic it was and that's what I focused on

and that's what I got.

Kelly has just completed a degree in paramedic science

at Staffordshire University.

Radio protocol wasn't her favourite subject.

I've always hated radios but now they're all right.

I was always scared of them.

If it rang, I'd give it to somebody else, but I'm all right now.

Kelly's tutors at uni drummed into her

the qualities needed to become a good paramedic.

She desperately wants to prove she has them.

You've got to be confident in the decisions you make,

you have to talk to your patients, build up rapports,

and that's really important.

This course is designed to refresh the skills

Kelly and her colleagues learned at uni.

They've been trained in moving disabled patients down stairs

with a specially designed chair -

the sort of kit increasingly needed with Britain's ageing population.

They've also been shown how to respond to major chemical attacks...

..designed to allow you to escape.

MUFFLED:

..it's made by the best - rather than the cheapest - bidder.

..and taught resuscitation techniques

to help them save lives on the road.

Top, middle, bottom - clear.

Administer shock. Shock advised, back on chest.

It might only be a dummy now but soon it will be real people

whose lives are on the line.

Make sure you've got no abdominal movements,

that you have got good, equal rise and fall of the chest.

And when Kelly completed the course,

all she had to do was sort her uniform...

A shirt!

White - it's not very practical, is it? But it's smart.

..and she's ready for action.

Or so she hoped.

Nervous. Very nervous.

And excited.

Put it all together, get out there and start.

One week later and Kelly arrives for her first shift.

The nerves are still very much in evidence.

Early start - the sun hasn't even come up yet.

I am excited...to get started.

She may have spent six years with St John Ambulance

and training to be a paramedic at uni,

but Kelly realises she's far from the finished article.

I've still got so much to learn but we're on our way.

She's been partnered with experienced paramedic Andy Grant.

Kelly will have to overcome her natural shyness, quick -

they're on their way sooner than expected.

BEEPING

Right, we've got a job, we need to go.

The call is to a road traffic collision.

Britain's emergency services

have to deal with around 200,000 RTC casualties every year.

RADIO:

Yeah, that's received,

just confirming it is a Red One, isn't it?

A "Red One" requires urgent attendance

but the RTC is some distance away.

Yeah, I never want to kill myself.

Not too bothered about my crewmate.

Joking aside, Andy's a highly experienced blue light driver

and it shows.

SIREN WAILS

As they arrive at the scene,

it looks like Kelly's first 999 call could present quite a challenge.

A senior firefighter is extremely concerned

about one of the casualties.

This lady here - she was the one in this KA.

-In this one?

-Yeah.

-And the air bag's gone off?

-Yeah.

The driver of the car in the ditch is 89-year-old Irene.

She's in shock after colliding with another vehicle.

Shall we pop you onto the ambulance so that we can assess you?

When the air bag inflated,

it hit her chest at a speed of 160 miles per hour,

leaving her in great pain.

-Ooh!

-Are you OK? Take your time.

Irene is frail.

The impact may have broken her chest bone.

-Oh!

-Just keep nice and still for me.

Ooh, it's here.

To help diagnose her injuries,

Andy's worked out how the crash occurred.

The collision's happened just where this divot is here,

and it's just span her, like, 180 degrees

over towards where her car rests on that embankment over there.

-Did you lose consciousness?

-No.

Kelly's remembering everything she learned in training.

Having assessed Irene's neck for damage,

she's now going to check for internal injuries.

-I could feel it across my back.

-Yeah.

Take some nice, steady breaths in through your mouth, all right?

And I'm going to have a listen to your chest.

When I breathe, it, er...

Just nice and steady.

Irene recently had surgery on her chest.

The operation site hasn't fully healed.

You've still got this scar tissue,

-so it's going to be quite tender for a bit of time.

-Oh, I know.

I can't believe that this has come to me.

Elderly casualties can deteriorate rapidly

and Irene's medical history is a concern.

They need to get her to hospital - fast.

SIREN WAILS

Kelly gave Irene painkillers en route and they're clearly working.

She's much more comfortable.

Have you been here before?

I did come for an operation not long back.

Her next destination will be the X-ray Department.

And don't...don't worry, OK? You're in the right place.

Kelly has a lovely manner with her patient. Andy's impressed.

She seems to be a natural.

Working with St John's Ambulance Service

has probably given her a good head start, um...

and that shows, really - it's being able to communicate with people.

And, yeah, I think she's done really well.

Kelly's trainers told her she'd always remember her first 999.

I don't think I'll ever forget Irene!

Very, very talkative!

But that's good, though - I like it when you can speak to your patients

and they can give you their life story.

So you're going now?

We'll be off now, yes.

Irene, it's been a pleasure meeting you, OK?

-I hope you're feeling better soon.

-I hope so!

When you've got a patient like Irene, it turns into more of a chat.

Your whole history taking is more of a chat,

rather than an interview, if you know what I mean.

She seemed like she quite enjoyed our company, to be honest.

We couldn't stop her from talking.

-You take care of yourself, Irene, all right?

-Thanks a lot, love.

-OK.

-Very kind of you.

-Good luck.

In Cheshire, another emergency service rookie

is starting out on a whole new adventure.

Swap legs. Same again.

26-year-old Martin Toner's day job is teaching IT in a local comp.

He's wanted to become a Special -

a volunteer police constable - for years.

I certainly don't think it's all about locking up bad people.

It's a case of speaking to the community that you're working in

and that's what I'm looking forward to most.

These wannabe Specials have attended 20 intensive training sessions

to learn the skills they'll need when they go on active duty -

how to arrest people...

Down, down, down, down!

..handcuff them safely and take them into custody.

It's something different to what I do Monday to Friday.

Giving something back to the community.

Being out on the weekend, I just... The thrill of it, really.

Spray, spray!

The rookies have also been trained how to use Captor -

a chemical spray that causes temporary blindness -

if a suspect becomes uncontrollably violent.

Think about your own personal safety.

You're spraying - great, you've slowed them down -

but you still could get stabbed.

They've been given enhanced self-defence skills

essential for a modern-day police officer.

-ALL:

-Get back! Get back! Get back!

And then they've been tested on their knowledge of the law

and official police procedures.

..safe to operate so that you can go out

and so that you're competent with the public which we have to serve.

Today, Martin's training has reached its end point -

a role play situation in public.

Assessing his every move, Senior Trainer Steven Davenport.

OK, we've had a report that there's been a male

brandishing a knife, a large knife, around and threatening people, OK?

Another trainee takes on the role of the suspect.

Good afternoon, sir, can you just wait there for me, please?

Martin needs to impress today

to get the green light to become a Special.

I'm searching you under the Section 1 of the Police & Criminal Evidence Act 1984.

Suspects should be positioned

so it's easier to respond if they resist arrest.

What I'd like you to do is turn yourself round...

Pockets could contain needles or blades.

Martin needs to show his assessor he's aware of safety issues,

while staying focused on his search.

Can I just ask if you've got anything sharp on you

that's going to hurt you or me?

Nothing at all? OK, so I'm just going to search you now.

Over a million people are stopped and searched each year in Britain,

with nine percent of searches leading to an arrest.

But this police tactic is considered controversial,

so it's important Martin does it by the book.

What's that in your pocket there?

-Key.

-That's your key? OK.

Martin's body search reveals no knife

but, if he leaves it at that, he will fail the test.

Is this your bag?

Can you just come over here for me?

Martin's found the weapon.

Right, OK, there's the knife.

He must now caution the suspect correctly.

You're under arrest on suspicion of an offensive weapon.

You do not have to say anything but it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned

something which you later rely on in court.

-Anything you do say may be given in evidence. Do you understand?

-Yeah.

It's time for him to hear the result.

From my point of view,

good scenario - you arrested for the correct offence.

You found the knife, which was great.

You were thinking out of the box - well done.

Martin seems to grow in confidence when he wears a police uniform.

He's passed the final hurdle of his training with ease.

Very nerve-racking, definitely.

I was nervous but I enjoyed it, so...

-I'm still nervous now. Sorry!

-HE LAUGHS

Four weeks later, and it's Martin's first shift.

For an 18-month probationary period,

he'll be constantly assessed by constable tutors.

His mentor today, PC Andy Cole.

OK, Martin - this is the patrol car we're going to be using today.

We've just got a few checks to do on the vehicle.

'I'm excited but I'm nervous as well.'

Obviously you never know what's going to be in store.

You just don't know.

So it's just a case of waiting and finding out.

It looks like Martin's 162 hours of Specials training

is about to be put to the test.

A 999 call has just come in.

It's a Grade 1, requiring urgent attendance.

We've been called to an incident which is domestic related,

ie, it's a partner or ex-partner who's been at the address today.

There's been previous issues with the couple.

Cheshire Police have to deal with

over 4,000 incidents of domestic abuse every year.

They can prove challenging, even for veteran officers.

I'm quite nervous. It's a new experience for me.

I think we're coming up now.

What's, er... What's been going on?

Just minutes into his first shift, Martin's in a difficult situation.

The woman who called 999,

saying she'd been assaulted by her ex-husband,

has gone somewhere she feels safer.

Two of her friends have waited for the police.

They say the man also attacked them.

Andy calls the ex-wife, who verifies the story.

Are you wanting to make a complaint of assault

in relation to what's gone on?

It appears the man has gone

but not before throwing his ex-wife's belongings

all over the drive.

The suspect has dumped the clothes out on the front, you see,

so what we're going to do is check that he's not still at the property,

so we're just going to have a look round

but that's all we know at the moment.

The search confirms the man is long gone.

Martin and Andy need to find him fast.

SIREN WAILS

Their next destination - his last known address.

It's not just Police Specials and rookie paramedics

who receive intensive training.

So do lifeboat volunteers.

In Aberdovey, Wales, new lifeboat recruit Dave Fowles

arrives for one of his regular training sessions.

We're just going to set the boat up, ready for the exercise.

Dave's been on the crew for just over a year

and has already created a good impression with helmsman Ian Jewell.

Dave is probably one of our most enthusiastic crew members.

He's... He's definitely going to be progressing

to be a helm of the boat in the future.

Yeah, he's coming on really fast.

Dave used to be a senior aircraft technician in the RAF.

When he left to join the family business,

he knew he'd miss the banter of the armed services

but then he heard the local lifeboat crew

was renowned for its camaraderie.

This station is fantastic, really,

because I get, um...

THEY ALL LAUGH

There's a lot of silly people.

Yeah, no, it's brilliant. Cracking banter, good, good fun.

But one thing the crew takes very seriously is its training.

The RNLI rescues over 8,000 people each year

and, to do that, its volunteers need to train for every eventuality.

I'll give you a shout, lines away, hammers down,

and we'll just cruise off out.

Today, to put Dave through his paces,

the exercise involves rescuing a fisherman in distress.

It's as much about just preparing his head and his thoughts

for the different eventualities of jobs that he'll have to deal with

and respond to. So, yeah, we'll try and throw as much as we can at him!

Milford Haven Coastguard, this is Aberdovey Lifeboat.

We have launched on exercise...

A fellow lifeboatman is role-playing a fisherman in trouble.

Man overboard over there, straight ahead!

Dave and fellow trainee Harry

have been told they need to rescue the casualty

before he becomes hypothermic.

OK on port side!

When they get close, the helm can no longer see the casualty.

Hand signals and clear verbal instructions from the crew

are vital to avoid him going under the lifeboat.

OK, half boat-length...!

Contact!

Once they have contact, a crew

member must keep hold of the casualty at all times.

Strong currents could drag them away from the boat.

-OK, mate? We're going to lift you in the boat.

-Yeah, I'm all right.

Dave must work as part of a team

to lift the waterlogged fisherman onto the boat.

They are taught to grip casualties under the arms -

clothes could tear.

Three...!

OK, casualty on board!

The skills which rookie Dave and his crewmates just practised

helped them save the lives of two local lobster fishermen

in September 2013.

Llewelyn Hughes and his son Ryan were three miles out to sea

when their boat, the Nikki Lou, hit a reef, shattering its hull.

I went under the deck, and I couldn't

physically get to where the hole was, to plug it.

And she was taking water.

But then as she drew more draught with the water,

then she just went deeper and deeper,

and the water just overwhelmed it.

Llewelyn radioed a mayday...

'Milford Haven Coastguard...'

..and Dave and his crewmates responded.

She started to sink immediately.

There's nothing you can do when you've got a hole in the thing.

It's going to the sea bed and that's it.

Thanks to Dave's training,

his responses to developing events were instantaneous.

'As we were going out, we heard from Milford Haven Coastguard'

that the vessel had actually sunk, and the two persons

who were on the boat were now in the water.

Every second counted. Llewelyn couldn't swim,

and the water was 15m deep.

When they reached the area where the boat had sunk,

the crew struggled to see the fishermen in the fading light.

I was thinking, you know, "Hurry up, boys," you know,

"I'm getting cold here."

There was dark patches in the water, so we started heading towards them.

After a quarter of an hour in the cold sea,

Llewelyn's energy levels were dropping fast.

Time drags.

15 minutes in the water felt like hours.

OK, contact!

Llewelyn needed to be pulled out of the sea quickly.

He looked hypothermic.

Hand on here. Hold on a second.

VOICE ON RADIO

'The boat has two casualties...'

Next, Llewelyn's son Ryan had to be hauled on board.

Stick your hands out here, mate.

Get it up there in a second.

The casualties were out of the sea, but they weren't out of danger.

Their body temperatures were plummeting.

We got sea survival blankets around them to keep the wind chill off,

and head-overs as well, to prevent any more heat loss.

Llewelyn and Ryan were clearly in a state of shock.

I think they were trying to process what had actually happened to them.

It was quite quickly hitting something to...

them being in the water, and their vessel just disappearing.

By the time they reached dry land,

Llewelyn and Ryan were in better spirits.

THEY LAUGH

-Yeah!

-Just keep the wind off.

VOICE ON RADIO

They were soon given a clean bill of health

and returned to their worried families.

They were well, they thanked us, and you know,

it was brilliant.

A month later, and Dave's come to see Llewelyn on his new boat.

-How are you, all right?

-Just getting over it now.

-Yeah?

You know, without you, Dave, I might not be here.

-I'm...old and...

-Well, you did everything right.

You had the life jacket and stuff and you looked fine in the water,

-so...

-No, I didn't! I was bloody freezing!

I think like a rabbit in the headlights - scared.

Llewelyn has little doubt how much he owes to Dave and his crewmates.

I think the RNLI saved my life, certainly.

Erm...they've helped me out a lot in the past.

This is the first time that I've used them...

in a life-and-death situation.

They've been invaluable.

For Dave, the rescue made all his hard work in training worthwhile.

When you have a difficult situation, where you've got to help somebody,

and you save them and you bring them back, that's addictive.

Back in Birmingham, rookie paramedic Kelly

and her mentor, Mick, are responding to one of the 3,000 999 calls

the West Midlands Ambulance Service will get today.

SIREN SOUNDS We basically have categories of calls.

We've got Red One, which is your cardiac arrest,

things like that. Your Red Two, which is your next one down...

But this may be about to become a Red One.

We've just been told that it's a motorbike versus a car,

and there is possibly major trauma.

-SIREN SOUNDS

-When dealing with trauma, paramedics need to act quickly.

Kelly may be new to the job, but there's no time for hesitation.

An off-duty nurse has already gone to the motorcyclist's aid.

-No loss of consciousness at all.

-Good.

-He's coherent, talking fine.

-Good.

He's complaining of pain in his abdo,

-and up in the thoracic area.

-Yeah.

Hiya. Are you all right? What's your name, mate?

-Liam.

-Liam. I'm Kelly.

-Have you got any pain anywhere at the moment?

-Just...

-In your tummy?

-Liam's wearing a helmet camera,

and recorded the crash.

From his footage, it's apparent that he and the van collided

with a great deal of force.

Kelly is worried Liam may have neck and back injuries.

Remembering her training,

she keeps communicating with her patient.

We're going to have to pop you onto a board.

I'm sure you've seen it done before.

We'll put a collar on your neck as well.

Liam can't feel any pain in his neck or back at the moment.

But that may be misleading.

If Liam's neck is broken and he's moved incorrectly,

he could be paralysed.

But fuel is pouring onto the road - a tiny spark and it could ignite.

It's a dangerous situation.

Just a week ago, Kelly was learning how to use a radio.

Now, those communication skills could mean the difference

between life and death.

We've got a leakage of fuel, of the bike - we're going to need Fire.

Was that received? Over.

Kelly's following her training to the letter.

Next, she and Mick must move Liam away from the fuel

without causing him what could be life-changing harm.

We're going to roll you onto your back.

This young lady is going to keep hold of you.

Oh, young lady! It's obviously a bit early in the morning,

he hasn't woke up yet!

You put your legs out straight for me?

-That's excellent.

-Any pain when you do that, when you move your legs?

-No.

-No?

Right...

Now Liam's on his back, Kelly can remove his helmet

to check for facial injuries.

She has to be extremely careful.

Here we go, we're coming now.

Excellent, nearly done, nearly there.

-Up!

-All right.

Liam may be in shock. His face is very pale.

The spinal board is in two sections.

Once they're slid under Liam they can be attached.

-I'm going to roll you to my side first.

-Yep.

The firefighters arrive just in time to help Kelly

and Mick get Liam into the ambulance.

-On your call.

-Lift!

En route to hospital Kelly finds herself calling on more of her

new skills.

She asks Liam to describe the impact

in detail to help anticipate his possible injuries.

You were travelling at about 30 miles per hour on your bike.

Where did the van come from?

It just basically cut straight across the road.

And hit you from the side?

Erm...

Liam is struggling to remember.

He may have severe concussion.

Over 5,000 motorcyclists are killed or seriously injured in Britain

every year - most deaths caused by brain injury.

Mick needs to drive fast,

but also make the journey as smooth as possible.

When they reach A&E, Kelly hands over to the sister in charge.

He hit the van and then hit the floor.

He's got right upper abdo pain as well.

The numbers that I've done are fine, no loss of consciousness,

no headache, no nausea or anything.

Liam's neck and spine assessment is about to begin.

Mick's impressed with how Kelly handled this complex trauma.

It weren't a case of, "Erm...erm." You went straight out

and found out the woman holding his head was qualified to do so,

-and you utilised members of the public.

-Yeah.

Excellent.

It's a steep learning curve,

but Kelly is rapidly finding her feet in her new career.

There's still a long way to go before you can

turn around on every job

and say, "I was confident at that," because we're so new,

but, yeah, it's on its way, it's good.

Back in Macclesfield, Special Constable Martin is five hours

into his first shift.

He and his mentor Andy have arrived at the house of the man

accused of assaulting his ex-wife and two of her friends.

No answer - all the indications are no-one's home.

We can't see his vehicle -

which suggests he may not be here.

But that is about to change.

The totally unsuspecting suspect has just returned home.

Martin's about to make his first arrest -

he needs to get the words exactly right for it to be legally sound.

I'm arresting you on suspicion of two counts of Section 39 Assault.

You do not have to say anything but it may harm your defence

if you do not mention

when questioned something you later rely on in court.

Pop your bag down there.

Just put your keys down for me.

Anything you do say may be given in evidence.

Do you understand the caution?

-Yeah.

-OK, I'm just going to put these cuffs on you, OK?

Give me that arm... OK, and this one.

Martin got the words spot-on, but there's more that needs to be

said to legally detain the suspect.

It's been necessary for your arrest to continue

the investigation by way of an interview

and also to prevent any injury to other people and yourself.

-Sit in there for me, Peter.

-Yeah, sure.

Next stop - custody suite.

Most Specials have to wait months before their first arrest.

-Any questions you want to ask me at this stage?

-Erm...

I'm OK for now, I think. Just coming down so...

Obviously, very, very nervous, first time.

Yeah, I think I covered everything, so that's the important bit

which makes it lawful, so that's good.

Back at the nick, another first for Martin as he locks

up his suspect.

Take your shoes off for me, please.

With the cell door slammed shut, Martin's shift is over.

'I'm not planning to make arrests every shift, but you never know, do you?'

Obviously I didn't anticipate it, coming in today to make an arrest,

but I've done it and I'm sure I'll do it again.

When Kelly's first patient, 89-year-old Irene, had her X-ray,

it confirmed a broken bone in her chest.

She was treated in hospital and is now on the road to recovery.

The man Martin arrested on suspicion of assault went to court

but the Crown Prosecution Service decided to take no further action.

And motorcyclist Liam escaped with cuts and bruises - his neck

and spine were given the all clear.

He's now back on his bike

and the video of his crash has over 100,000 hits on YouTube.

Next time...

Police Special Andy ends up in agony

when he bravely volunteers for a training demonstration.

Spray, spray!

I can't open my eyes.

Paramedic recruit Julie calls on all her training to save

the life of a patient who can barely breathe.

We're coming at you at all angles, sorry about this, Betty.

While mountain rescue volunteer Phil discovers what can go wrong

when trying to save lives 480 feet up a mountain.

Just stuck on the rocks, Pete.

All stop - all stop!