Episode 4 First Time on the Front Line

Britain's next generation of Emergency Service recruits,

chosen from a pool of thousands.

Rookies like Police Special Amber -

she's already been on a drugs raid.

Now she's about to face her first car patrol.

I'm just going to try and be prepared for anything, really.

Ben passed his paramedics training with flying colours

but how will he cope doing the job for real?

Feeling quite anxious but quite good as well,

cos it's two years in the making now.

And Ian's embarking on a new career

with the Scottish Fire Service but does he have what it takes?

My life has come full circle, if you like, which makes me happy.

Roger that.

They've survived months of intensive training...

Come on, let's move!

Ready, steady, roll.

They've been tested to their limits.

Spray, spray! It's burning.

Stop panicking, don't worry.

All to realise their dream careers.

Relieved, ecstatic and nervous to start.

Join them for their First Time On The Frontline.

In today's programme,

rookie paramedic Ben's faced with the kind of job

even experienced colleagues dread - a seriously ill child.

I've got a nine-month-old baby boy.

So far today he's had ten fits.

Fire recruit Ian is sent into a burning building

to search for casualties.

And Police Special Amber investigates a serious assault,

but the teenage victim is too scared to identify his attackers.

-Be honest with me - what's happened?

-I fell over.

You didn't fall over because I heard someone's assaulted you.

Heart rate 120.

West Midlands Ambulance Service Recruitment Day.

Wannabe paramedics like 20-year-old Ben Pallante

are being put through their paces.

Less than half will be offered jobs today.

Quite nervous, really. We'll see how it goes.

For Ben, becoming a paramedic is a lifelong ambition.

He joined St John Ambulance at the age of ten

and has just completed a two-year foundation degree

in Paramedic Science.

I want to make a difference to people

so...being confident and being able to do that job

is what I want to do.

For Ben to achieve his dream career, he needs to excel today.

The first assessment focuses on hand strength.

With a quarter of Britain's population clinically obese,

paramedics often encounter heavy patients who need lifting.

There are opportunities when you're on the road

when you just need pure handgrip.

Ben's being tested alongside close friend Sam du Plessis Grimson.

Ben's determined to out-grip him.

Absolutely nailed it, well done.

What was the figure on that one then?

-49.4.

-Oh!

The friendly rivalry continues during a test

to assess their flexibility.

If paramedics haven't got supple hamstrings and lower spines,

they're prone to serious back injuries in the line of duty.

Easy. Thank you.

LAUGHS

I feel a competition going on here, gentlemen.

2-0 to Ben. Next, the back strength challenge.

Paramedics often have to carry heavy kit as well as heavy patients.

-Well done. 186.

-169.

-Yes!

The physical assessment is over

and Ben has narrowly won his battle with Sam.

-There wasn't a competition.

-No.

-This guy, he's just...

But the real challenge today

is securing one of the few full-time paramedic jobs up for grabs.

Ben needs to impress with his ambulance driving abilities.

-If you hit the cones, we've got a problem.

-Yes.

-OK?

-No worries.

OK, well done.

The final part of the assessment process

is a tough written exam to test the applicants' medical knowledge.

Give it a go and you know, do my best is all I can do.

The recruitment day is over.

Of the 107 applicants, 47 have been successful.

The other 60 will be getting bad news.

Ben hopes he won't be one of them.

Congratulations. You passed everything.

-Brilliant, thank you.

-The job's yours.

-That's great.

After a six-week training course, Ben will be good to go.

Relieved, ecstatic and nervous to start.

Three months later, and it's Ben's

first shift as an official paramedic.

I'm feeling quite anxious because obviously I don't know what the day

is going to bring but good as well because it's two years in the making

so I want to get out there and actually do the job.

He's working alongside experienced colleague Sam Wong.

It's quite nerve-racking for him.

All his training has led up to today where he's basically

going to be part of an ambulance crew.

Unfortunately he's got the short straw, working with me.

West Midlands Ambulance serves a population

of over five million people

and responds to over a million incidents a year,

so it's no surprise that Ben and Sam

get a 999 call just minutes into their shift.

There's been a road traffic collision.

Ben has to get them to the scene through rush hour traffic.

A cyclist has collided with a car.

Wojciech, who's Polish, has recovered consciousness

but he received a serious blow to his head.

Do you remember the event or were you knocked out?

I remember the event. I was coming from that direction there.

I was inside the roundabout and then I was stopped,

just cut my bike and I hit.

Wojciech was wearing a helmet,

but still has bad bruising to his head

and severe pain in his ear.

Ben's first 999 patient may look OK

but his training tells him nothing should be taken at face value.

Just pinpoint where the pain is at the moment?

Inside the left ear and in my head and it's increasing a bit.

Wojciech also has pain in his neck.

Ben needs to follow the protocols he's been taught.

I think the best thing to do is pop you on this board,

we'll keep you nice and flat and we'll take you for an X-ray on your neck and your back.

Until the X-ray confirms there's no damage,

he'll be immobilised with a collar.

Ben and Sam can't take any chances.

If his neck is broken, movement could paralyse him.

Get this on.

Yes. It's all right.

Ben's training at university taught him

the importance of thoroughly investigating impacts like this.

We're just looking here for any damage to the car

which could identify a pattern of injury -

what part of his body may have hit the car window,

the force involved.

Cracked the windscreen, so a significant amount of force has been present there.

The evidence indicates

Wojciech could have a fractured skull.

He needs to be assessed by specialists.

3,000 cyclists are killed or seriously injured

on Britain's roads each year.

75% of fatalities are caused by head injury.

When they reach A&E,

Wojciech's examination begins immediately.

He does have a haematoma to his ear.

He needs to be carefully rolled onto his side

so his spine can be examined.

The A&E doctor asks Ben to direct her team.

So obviously you're in charge.

Ben's training is about to be put to the test.

-Over to you.

-Everyone happy, yeah?

-Yeah.

The command will be "Ready, steady, roll" and we'll go roll, OK.

Happy. Ready, steady, roll.

Don't worry, mate, you're not going to fall off. We've got you.

Wojciech's spine seems OK.

Ready, steady, roll.

But there is a concern about his neck,

-You can feel pain here?

-Yeah. Oh, yes.

This is when it's painful?

He needs an X-ray to investigate

possible fractures in his neck and skull.

Ben took his first 999 call in his stride,

especially when asked to direct rolling the patient.

Bless him. He took control and gave really good commands.

Everyone knew when they needed to roll and yeah, it went really well.

Brilliant. Very professional. Very cool, calm and collected.

It's what I'd expect. I didn't realise it was his first day.

After two years at uni being closely supervised by tutors,

Ben's having to find his feet fast.

I'm still looking round for my mentor to be there

to sort of seek for a "Yeah, you're doing that right,"

or "No, focus on this a little bit more." It's slowly sinking in.

100 miles away in Cheshire,

another emergency service rookie is also on a steep learning curve.

Strike, strike, strike!

Police Special Amber-Louise Evans

went on a drugs bust on her first shift.

You're under arrest concerning supply of controlled drugs.

Now she faces a new challenge - her first car patrol.

Amber's police adventure began in summer 2013

when she attended a Specials training course.

I've always wanted to be a police officer my whole life

and being a Special, I think, is really a "try before you buy"

kind of method of going into the regulars.

At the end of the course,

she had to excel in a tough assessment day

to qualify as a Special.

Really nervous, because obviously we've got to pass today

to pass the final assessment so it's a big step.

The first part of the assessment was a written exam.

Ten detailed questions about legal process and police procedures.

Amber was pleased with how the exam went.

It was simpler than what I thought it was going to be

but I'm still nervous anyway.

But the hardest part of the day was yet to come, the practical exam.

First, the wannabe Specials were assessed on whether they knew

the positions officers must adopt when facing a hostile crowd.

OK, ready stance.

And how to reposition rapidly.

Two step back, go!

Next they had to prove they could safely pin to the ground

a suspect resisting arrest.

Over a million people are arrested in Britain every year

and when they don't come quietly,

the new recruits need to know how to handle them professionally.

Down, down, down.

And finally, had they learnt how to handcuff people

in a way which secures them, but doesn't injure them.

If you all go over to the box as quick as you can.

When the assessment ended, the rookies soon found out their fate.

Craig is going to shout out a few names, so we just need them

to go over and speak to Craig.

Everyone else, please take the pads back.

Amber passed and was assigned to the police station she'd wanted.

I'm going to be working in Stockton Heath which is south of Warrington.

The crime there is mainly based around drink-driving

and burglaries and stuff like that.

It won't be easy, obviously,

but I think it will be a nice way to break into the job.

And two months later,

Amber's about to go out on her very first car patrol.

I'm going to try to be prepared for anything, really.

I think that's the scary part - you don't know

what's going to come up. Anything could happen at all.

When they start,

Specials are assessed during an 18-month probationary period.

They are assigned constable tutors -

Amber's mentor today is PC Richard Whitehead.

This afternoon we'll go out

and see if we can spot a few of our local criminals.

Ones that cause us the most problems.

It doesn't take long for Richard to spot a suspicious vehicle.

I've just seen a car I didn't like. Can I go and have a quick check?

Amber's training didn't end when she finished the course.

She needs to learn from her experienced mentor on duty.

People always look at a police car going past so he was like this.

He didn't seem to want to look at us.

The same car was followed by police yesterday

and a package thrown out of the window before it was stopped.

The package couldn't be found.

Moving vehicle check please.

The car isn't registered locally and is heading into an estate

where drug dealers are believed to be based.

Richard pulls it over.

This is an interesting vehicle.

Routine stop, mate. This vehicle is not registered around here.

It isn't registered around here. It's round the corner there.

It's not registered here. It's registered in Bristol. That's why you've been stopped.

Bristol's drug gangs are major players in the UK drugs market,

which is estimated to have a value of £8.3 billion a year.

Let's have a look in your pockets, please.

LAUGHS

-How much is there, kid?

-Five ton.

-Five ton.

-Amber, just hold this.

-Yes.

£500 in cash arouses suspicion.

If it had been £1,000 and he wasn't able to prove

it was legitimate, the money could have been confiscated.

Any patrol from Stockton, any patrol from anywhere, please.

Even though it's an active investigation,

Richard still guides Amber through the process.

Trust your instincts. If you think something's not right, go with it.

He's going to an address with a lot of money

so he's either just sold drugs or he's going to buy some more.

The driver is searched and Amber's lesson continues.

Always when you're searching, keep them in the angle of the door

because if you got hold of a door, you can push them

back into the door so you can get away as well if he does anything.

The suspect has no drugs on his person - time to search his car.

I don't think I've ever held this much money in my hand before.

The suspect has convictions for theft and assault,

which might explain the golf club in the boot.

I don't think he's a golfer.

That might be there to enforce or to keep hold of stuff that he has.

No drugs are found in the vehicle

but the stop was worthwhile.

Richard's noticed the car's rear tyre is extremely dangerous.

You're going to get reported for a summons, yeah.

You're driving a vehicle with a defective and bald rear tyre.

Richard sees a chance to stop the suspect in his tracks,

even if only temporarily.

What are you doing driving? You've got to change that tyre.

You can't drive that, mate. Honestly you can't drive it.

Get the jack out. It will take you two minutes to change the tyre, all right.

-I'll come back for the car, then.

-All right then, mate, no worries.

The driver's about the same age as Amber.

Despite the suspicious circumstances, she feels some sympathy for him.

You know they've done something wrong, but I can't help

but feel a bit bad for him.

Even though I don't know anything about him.

I just can't help it.

It's something I'm going to have to get past.

This has been a useful learning exercise for Amber.

I can only gain more knowledge from experience.

With experience comes confidence.

200 miles away in Glasgow,

another emergency service rookie is about to be stretched to the limit.

Scottish Fire and Rescue recruit

Ian Kennedy has just joined Cowcaddens station in Glasgow.

It's taken 30-year-old Ian some time

to decide on a career, but now he has,

he's enjoying every minute.

It's been life-changing.

I had three part-time jobs but I've consolidated it

into one job and it's something I can focus on.

Ian used to combine his part-time work with athletics

and ran for Scotland at international level.

He still coaches youngsters.

Lift the knees, John. Right through.

Well done. OK.

But now he's looking forward to a new challenge.

My life has come full circle, if you like.

Instead of having three motorway lanes, it's just now

a single road and I'm going down it,

which makes me happy.

But to become a fully-fledged firefighter,

Ian must impress during a three-year probationary period

and he's about to get a chance to show off his new skills.

Need to go!

But when Ian's crew reaches its destination, a local hotel,

it turns out a hot shower is to blame.

Everything's resolved. It was just steam that set off the alarm.

The false alarms go on...

and on...

and on.

False alerts can be frustrating for firefighters,

but they can't drop their guard.

You still have to go through your procedures and get your sets on

and treat it in a professional manner.

There's no getting lax with this.

To enforce the point, Ian must always stay on his toes.

His watch commander, Brian Nellis, shows him

footage of a factory fire he attended in 2012.

We got there at two in the morning.

We got relieved about half past eight, nine o'clock.

High-reach appliances created "water curtains" to prevent

flames spreading to nearby department stores.

It took 45 firefighters eight hours to control the blaze.

It was very developed by the time we got there.

Smoke spread through lift shafts.

Brian's message couldn't be more clear-cut.

You go to these places 100 times.

It's the 101st time that you get a fire,

so you can't be complacent at all.

Ian's next shift is his last before an 18-day break.

It's going to start with some ladder training

run by crew commander Karla Stevenson.

But the drill's cut short.

SIREN

-Let's go.

-The ladders need putting back on the appliance quickly,

but there is one advantage of a call-out during a drill.

At least we've got our kit on ready to go.

Ian's been assigned the role of breathing apparatus, or BA,

on this shout.

Last week he was being trained in BA skills...

and that training's about to be put to the test.

This is no false alarm.

The commander wants Ian

to sweep the smoke-filled building for casualties.

Smoke inhalation is the most common cause of death in house fires.

If there are casualties inside, they need to be found fast.

All right? Cheers.

The fire's been extinguished.

Luckily no-one was in the room when it was ablaze.

And Ian's completed his search of the building - it's good news.

There's no people in there so now the building's clear

and we're just getting the smoke ventilator in.

A powerful ventilation fan is going to be used to get the smoke

out of the building.

It blows air at 120mph, creating

an airflow of 200,000 cubic feet per minute.

The building is smoke-free in less than an hour.

-Totally clear, yeah.

-Yes, it's clear.

Karla's investigated the cause of the fire

and called in Strathclyde Police. It might be arson.

On arrival, this window was open.

Some sort of accelerant has been poured in through the window

and set alight, so we've asked the police to attend

because it's what we call wilful fire-raising,

so what we need to do now is

preserve the scene until their arrival.

The occupier is away on holiday at the moment.

The commander was impressed with Ian's search -

it will be noted in his report.

It's a great end to Ian's last shift before his break.

As a person, I feel more confident.

I still won't be happy until I've done my three years and got my qualification

but it's definitely got my confidence on,

coming into the station and actually doing the job.

Job done.

Back in Birmingham, rookie Paramedic Ben is on another shift.

He's been partnered with experienced colleague

Andy Grant. They're on their way to an urgent 999 call

and Ben's going to take clinical lead with this patient.

Nine-month-old patient with brain damage.

Ben's worried a case involving a brain-damaged baby

might be beyond him so early in his career.

There's a note on here saying the patient has a brain problem

so it could be quite serious really.

I haven't really dealt with anything as serious as this.

The patient, Oscar, suffers from epilepsy.

While Andy checks him over,

Ben establishes Oscar's medical history with his worried parents.

Every time he goes to sleep, he's fitting quite severely.

He's had about nine.

-He's had nine fits, just sat there with my dad.

-Today?

-Today, yeah.

Can you describe the fits to me, please?

His whole body. Whole body fit, yeah.

He's got brain damage.

Baby Oscar has been in and out of hospital all his life.

Normally, he has nine throughout the day

but there we just counted about nine

in the space of about four, five minutes.

It was like a constant fit. He'd stop, come out and then go back in.

Well, I think the best thing to do is,

obviously these fits are a bit abnormal

for his usual characteristics, OK, so what we'll do,

we'll pop him up to the Children's Hospital, which is where he's treated.

Andy drives while Ben monitors Oscar en route.

Soon there are signs of another seizure.

He just had a little one there now.

Oh, right, this is how it starts, is it?

And what I might do, mate, I might give the Children's a ring.

-OK. How come?

-He's starting another one.

Do you want a hand for two minutes?

I'm all right, I think, mate, to be fair.

Oscar is seriously ill.

Ben follows his training and makes sure the specialists are ready

and waiting at the hospital.

Can I pop an alert in, please?

I've got a nine-month-old baby boy.

So far today he's had ten fits, ten convulsions.

Heart rate 120 and systolic 118.

He's known hypertensive.

I just let the hospital know that we're coming,

just so they can get a team ready because obviously

if he's had ten, it's not really normal for him

so a team of doctors will be there so they can treat him quite quickly.

I have got some stuff out ready just in case he has another one,

we can treat him for it.

The fits may lead to Oscar's brain

being deprived of oxygen.

Ben wants to boost the oxygen levels in Oscar's blood

to prevent that happening.

I'll just put it by his face

so he can breathe in and it doesn't scare him too much.

Ben's treatment has done the trick.

The oxygen levels in Oscar's blood remain high.

Yeah, sats 98 per cent.

OK.

Andy's an experienced blue-light driver -

a 20-minute journey to the hospital is done in ten.

We'll unclip him from the seat and we'll leave him on the bed

and we'll wheel the bed in. Saves anyone carrying him,

so he's got a bit more freedom if he does have one.

He's got a bit more room.

Ben briefs Andy on how many fits Oscar had during the journey.

We've had three en route, mate.

Even though Ben's only a rookie,

he expertly stabilised Oscar in the ambulance,

giving his patient the best chance of a positive outcome.

Quite scary, really, certainly for a new paramedic

because obviously no-one likes poorly children.

Poorly children are not really a nice thing to go out to.

Although we made a difference, we got Oscar to hospital quite quickly.

It's the end of the shift and his mentor is impressed.

Yeah, he did acquit himself really, really well.

He thought, you know, "Think for the worst, hope for the best",

so he alerted the hospital, he put oxygen on him.

He was thinking about, "Oh, what if this deteriorates?"

Children do scare most health care professionals.

You know, it didn't seem to faze him too much or if it did faze him,

he wasn't showing it and that's the key.

Back in Warrington,

rookie Special Amber and her mentor Richard

are responding to a report of a teenager being beaten up

on the outskirts of town.

Every year there are over 600,000 violent attacks in Britain.

One male still at the location.

One male has just got into a car.

While colleagues go in pursuit of the attacker,

Richard and Amber head to where the assault was reported.

Hey, mate. What's up?

I don't want to press charges. I fell over.

-Be honest with me. What's happened?

-I fell over.

You didn't fall over because I've heard someone's assaulted you.

The teenager has extensive bruising around his eye.

The socket may be fractured.

Who's hit you? Let's go and find them.

No, I don't want to grass. I'm not a grass.

What if your eye is that badly damaged, you wake up tomorrow

-and you can't see?

-I'm not giving no name.

While Richard tries to get some sense out of the victim, Amber finds

a witness and discovers some vital information about the getaway car.

-It's a green Fiesta.

-OK, give me a second.

He's not going to say a word, keeping his gob shut

but the lads were hanging around, quite willing to all jump out.

As they've come out, the lad's just getting battered.

The victim is still being uncooperative,

so it's down to Amber to get to the bottom of what really happened.

How many did you say there were?

Three of them. The lad just getting smashed in.

He didn't fight back, he should have but it was a full assault on him.

The victim wants to leave with his girlfriend.

-I need to walk her into town.

-You've got to walk into town?

-Yeah.

-What if you come across these lads again?

-What if they get you again between here and town?

-Then they'll get me.

Finally the lad reveals the truth about what happened,

but only for a moment.

I deserved it. I deserved the whacking.

-So you're telling me you were assaulted, then?

-No, I fell over.

-I need to go and catch her up.

-Go and catch her up, then.

Amber reports back on her findings.

-I've got a little bit of information about what happened.

-Go on.

-Three lads in a green Fiesta.

-Yeah.

Yeah, and he was just down there, cowering down, didn't fight back.

Amber discovering the lad was kicked on the ground

by three attackers convinces Richard

he'd be in serious danger if he encounters them again.

Richard asks an unmarked police car

to take the lad and his girlfriend to safety.

We've given him a lift home

to avoid any further problems this evening

and I'll come speak to him tomorrow to see

if he's a little more forthcoming with who has assaulted him.

Amber understands why he didn't want to describe his attackers.

I think it's a hard age to be at, especially

when you've got to prove yourself to other people.

I think he was too scared to give any details about what happened

because he thought he was going to get grassed in.

It must be horrible going through that.

Amber may have only been an observer at the search

but she played a crucial role in investigating the assault.

She puts her growing confidence down to her mentor.

Richie's really proactive, he's really into

what he's doing. He's just full of energy.

I feel like so far I've kind of being hidden in my shell a bit

and he forced me in ways to get out of it and get stuck in.

That's exactly the kind of person I really needed to go on duty with.

Ben's first patient, Wojciech, was diagnosed with severe whiplash

and concussion, but no broken bones.

He's now on the road to recovery.

The investigation into the suspected arson attack

which firefighter Ian attended is ongoing.

Police have several lines of inquiry.

The Volvo driver was prosecuted for his dangerous tyre.

He was fined £525 and received three penalty points on his licence.

And baby Oscar is now home and on new epilepsy medication.

His condition is much improved.

Next time, rookie Kelly's trauma training

is put to the test as she attends a child whose life is on the line.

He's got a large laceration to his cheek.

Police Special Laurence responds to an allegation

of a serious domestic assault on his very first shift.

Police. What's gone on?

And mountain rescue recruit Tom's called to a badly injured walker

who needs airlifting to safety.

We need to get this together ASAP!