Episode 14 Countryside 999

You OK there? She'll be all right, don't worry.

Rural Britain has some of the most challenging environments

in the world.

In Scotland, the mountains, lochs and coastline encourage

tourists and locals to get out into the wilds.

But with that comes danger.

Keep your arms by your side!

The emergency services north of the border

have to deal with extreme challenges every day.

Driving in the United Kingdom,

you have to have a full British driving licence.

From severe weather and treacherous terrain...

Can you bend your elbow? Not really.

..to covering huge distances on country roads

with time against them.

So just get him out, ASAP.

They work around the clock,

battling against some of the most difficult situations.

We'll be right at the heart of the action -

side by side with Air Rescue saving lives,

on the road with paramedics caring for the injured

and following the police fighting crime,

as the emergency services work together

to pick up, patch up and protect the public in rural communities.

This is Countryside 999.

Coming up. Whose vehicle is this?

Illegal drivers beware, as traffic police patrol Britain's roads.

OK, this is indicating to me that you have had alcohol, and you've failed.

Rural paramedics face terrible driving conditions

when dealing with an emergency call.

Little scratch on the arm, just keep still for me. Oh!

That's it, just relax.

And it's agony on the slopes,

for the casualties of the Cairngorm Ski Patrol.

Oh, my God!

Every year in the UK, over 13,000 accidents

are caused by people driving too fast.

Dumfries and Galloway has over 2,500 miles

of major and minor roads.

And the traffic police here are on the clamp-down.

You've been stopped for using a mobile phone when driving.

You need to move from there, buddy. I'll tell her to get her belt on.

Today, PC Ian Nish and PC Scott McCreadie

are patrolling one of the busiest roads on their patch.

The A75 is the main road to and from Stranraer -

the second busiest port in the UK.

It's a popular route with HGV drivers.

BEEPING

55 for the heavy.

It's not long before they spot a lorry breaking the speed limit.

What we've got is the first HGV travelling at 55mph.

On an A class road they are restricted 40.

So he's travelling in excess of 15 miles over the speed limit.

Well, man, I've stopped you in relation to your speed this morning.

Could you just jump into the passenger side behind my colleague, please?

Scott and Ian have 12 years' experience on the road between them.

And both know the dangers speeding HGVs pose in rural areas.

With the driver in the back, Ian smells something suspicious.

IAN SNIFFS

IAN INHALES

OK, because you've committed a moving road traffic offence,

OK, I'm going to require you,

under the terms of Section 6 of the Road Traffic Act 1988,

to provide a specimen of breath for analysis.

Do you understand? Yes.

Have you had a drink within the last 20 minutes -

of alcohol in the last 20 minutes?

No.

Have you ever used this device before?

Right, no bother. Well, hold on to it. If you just lean forward.

Just keep going. Keep going.

Keep going. Keep going. Keep going. Keep going. OK. And relax.

OK, it's analysing just now.

OK, this is indicating to me that you've had alcohol and you're a fail.

So I arrest you for failing the roadside breath test.

Do you understand?

In 2011, drink-driving killed over 280 people.

This driver earns his living behind the wheel of a 44-tonne lorry.

So this mistake could cost him his job.

More worryingly, it could have cost the lives of other road users.

The officers take him into custody.

If he fails further tests at the police station,

he could face disqualification,

a five grand fine or even a stint behind bars.

Back at the station, officers have a more accurate breathalyser machine

which is fully calibrated.

The suspect must give two more examples

and the law dictates the lowest reading is used.

So just a deep breath and then keep blowing

and try and hold it around about here, OK?

A big, deep breath. And blow.

Keep going. Keep going. Keep going. Keep going. Keep going. Keep going.

Nearly there. Well done. That's it. Right, that's the first one done.

Let you catch your breath back. So just looking for the same again.

OK, that's you. Relax.

It's a tense time for the driver.

It's illegal to drive a vehicle with more than

35 micrograms of alcohol per litre of breath,

but prosecution only follows if his lowest reading

is over 39 micrograms.

You've provided two readings of 39 and 36.

And we obviously use the lowest reading. So your lowest one is 36.

It's a relief for the truck driver.

Although the reading means he's unfit to drive,

he's under the prosecutable limit,

but he'll still be charged for speeding.

It's not acceptable.

You're still driving a 44-tonne lorry

whilst over the alcohol limit for driving.

The driver is locked up until his alcohol level drops.

He revealed to the police that he had a vodka at eight this morning.

Now he is free to go, the reality of the situation hits home.

It's disgusting driving a large goods vehicle

whilst under the influence.

We'll also inform the Traffic Commissioner of Scotland

in relation to his driving authority.

The Traffic Commissioner can revoke HGV, LGV driving licences

if they think the driver's not a fit and proper person.

Today, that person's fell into the category.

He's not a fit and proper person to drive that lorry.

One fifth of the UK population lives in the countryside.

The more scattered the villages and towns,

the more ground the emergency services have to cover.

Paramedics in rural areas often have much further to travel

than their counterparts in the cities.

Based in the Dumfries and Galloway town of Castle Douglas,

it's the early shift

for ambulance crew Andy Chappell and Charlie Walker,

who are on a 999 callout.

They've given us an emergency, a possible stroke.

Um, a town called Dalry.

Jessie, a 91-year-old woman,

has suffered a suspected stroke and needs urgent medical attention.

SIREN WAILS

One of the things with stroke patients,

is the sooner we get them up to A,

the sooner they can start definitive treatment.

They were on their way to a non-emergency job

in the opposite direction,

when they were redirected to this 999 callout.

They now need to navigate 35 miles of narrow, winding roads.

We're on single rural roads a lot of the time.

Um, we don't have the benefit of dual carriageways.

So our response times sometimes can be slower just due to the...

the actual layouts of to road and the weather as well.

It slows us down quite dramatically sometimes.

A study has shown if a stroke patient

is treated within 90 minutes,

it can more than double their chances of a good recovery.

So the pressure's on to get there fast.

Everybody's being considerate this morning.

From the 999 call,

it takes the ambulance 37 minutes to get to Jessie's house.

Hello, Jessie.

She's confused and in some pain.

Do you feel any pins or needles anywhere? Or any numbness or anything? No.

Just that back pain?

Oh, dear. OK, chicken, we'll get you sorted out.

And he needs to get Jessie ready for

transfer to hospital as soon as possible.

Especially if she's had a stroke.

Low temperatures and icy roads can be a recipe for disaster.

So in the winter, police officers keep their eyes peeled

for unroadworthy vehicles that might not be in tiptop condition.

Dumfries and Galloway traffic police are based in Lockerbie,

near the M74 motorway bridging England and Scotland.

Road-policing officer Cammy Thompson

is carrying out routine vehicle checks on the motorway

with his colleague PC Hazel Smith.

They've spotted a red Honda and decide to run a check on it.

RADIO:

That's received. Thank you.

It's an older sort of vehicle,

so just stop it

and make sure it's the person who's insured to drive it

and have a quick check of its wheels and tyres

with all the bad weather that's forecast.

Hello there. Nothing to worry about, just a routine stop.

Who's vehicle is it?

The car contains three men heading back to Stirling from London.

Cammy asks to see the driver's licence.

Turkish licence, yes?

Do you have a UK licence? No, OK.

It looks like there's a serious issue with his driving licence.

And then Cammy sniffs out something else.

And who's got the cannabis on them?

Who's got the cannabis?

Do you want to give it to me?

Where is it?

OK, do you want to...? Is it in your jacket, is it?

Right.

With a small amount of cannabis and drug paraphernalia

found in the back of the car,

Cammy needs some answers.

Who bought this? We found it in London, sir.

We've just come from London. You found it? Yeah, we find it.

Right, OK.

As the drugs are next to the back-seat passenger,

Cammy and Hazel take him to the patrol car.

Can you just jump in the back?

OK, sir, can you tell me who this here belongs to?

OK, what is this?

Where did you get it from?

Right.

How much did you pay for this?

And is this here just for personal use?

Admitting to possession of cannabis, the passenger is cautioned

and will be reported to the court.

For now, he's free to go.

Later, Cammy and Hazel question the driver

and find out all is not as it seems.

Do you have a British driving licence?

Do you have a provisional?

Scotland is home to Britain's most mountainous regions.

Inaccessible, rugged terrain makes for challenging

conditions for the emergency services.

Especially in the freezing winters.

But these peaks are a huge draw to millions of visitors a year -

many heading to ski and snowboard on Cairngorm Mountain.

And keeping them safe are the Cairngorm Ski Patrollers.

It's minus four degrees centigrade.

Ski Patroller Eric Pirie is heading out to rescue

a skier with a dislocated shoulder.

'Got a report that there was somebody injured, so I was dispatched

'and it's just a case'

of finding where the patient is.

Eric finds the casualty, Scott, on his feet but in a lot of pain.

How's your pain level at the moment?

Scott has dislocated his left shoulder,

one of the most painful injuries

the Ski Patrollers have to deal with.

It goes straight down and hurts a bit.

Eric offers Scott Entonox, a painkilling gas,

the same gas used by some women in childbirth.

'It's a case of loading people on as quickly as we can,

'get them stabilised, and splinted

'and loading them on the sledge to get them out of the environment'

because it's limited what we can do with temperature and wind.

It was quite exposed where he was. He was already quite cold.

'So the priority was more hypothermia rather than his injuries.'

Can you bend your elbow? Can you bend your elbow? Not really.

There you go. BLEEP!

OK. I've got it. I'm not moving it.

It turns out Scott has dislocated his shoulder six times before

and is awaiting surgery.

If you guys want to organise transport to Aviemore Health Centre that would be...

Yeah, we've got a vehicle ready to go.

We'll just get him straight down there, that would be the best way.

It's not serious enough to call an accident and emergency ambulance.

He's in a lot of pain.

Fortunately, he's a tough lad, the group he's with have a minibus,

so that's great, he's got his own transport.

Getting off the mountain is slow.

The ride is agonising for Scott,

who takes regular doses of the Entonox.

There's a bump there. Oh, my God.

Nearly there now.

They get him to the funicular railway by rescue sledge

in less than ten minutes -

long enough for someone with a dislocated shoulder.

His friends were with him when he fell.

He put his hand down to stand up and popped his shoulder out.

It's a shame it didn't pop back in straightaway.

Once it wouldn't go back in,

then he obviously realised he was in trouble.

The Entonox is helping the pain, and he's not shy of using it.

You're not doing nearly well enough,

you've still got half a canister left.

Put your hand over my shoulders, just in case you slip.

No, don't grab that arm.

The last part of his journey is on the mountain funicular,

with only Entonox to ease the bumps.

Scott takes so much gas and air that there's very little left

when they get him to the bottom of the mountain.

He can't overdose on the Entonox in the cylinder,

but he soon discovers it's strong stuff.

Spinning a bit? Yeah.

That's the Entonox.

Finally, at the foot of the mountain,

Scott can go to hospital by minibus.

OK, guys. Let us know how he gets on, eh?

He just about finished the cylinder,

he was right down just touching the red.

It was a brand-new cylinder at the top, so that's a good effort.

That's a fairly... Fair amount of pain relief required

when you're sooking that hard.

But, again, because he'd done it so many times,

he was very familiar with using Entonox,

and it seemed to work for him.

And you noticed he was maybe getting a wee bit giggly at the bottom,

so that's one of the classic side effects.

Near Castle Douglas, south-west Scotland,

ambulance crew Andy Chappell and Charlie Walker got a 999 call.

SIREN WAILS

They travelled 35 miles on winding country roads

to reach their suspected stroke patient.

Hello, Jessie.

You've had a bit of a funny turn this morning

and Dr Jones has been to see you,

so we're going to take you up to the hospital. Oh. OK? OK.

So whereabouts is the pain in your back? It's a way down there.

On one side or in the middle? In the middle. In the middle.

We'll give you a bit of oxygen,

then we'll get a chair and take you to the ambulance. OK. OK?

Jessie has dementia.

Andy and Charlie want to minimise her stress and pain

for the long ambulance journey.

Can you just put your arms together? That's great. That's fine.

Feet up on there, Jessie,

and we'll just wrap you up cos it's rainy and cold outside.

Put this belt round you, save you running away.

It's not far as the crow flies,

but it's over an hour's drive to the hospital,

so the crew moves swiftly to get Jessie into the ambulance.

There we go. Oh, it's cold.

Cold? It'll soon warm up. The heating's on.

Oh.

You're in the ambulance and we're going to take you up to the hospital.

Oh, dear.

It's a worrying time for daughter-in-law Margaret.

You OK there? She'll be all right, don't worry.

Margaret called the doctor earlier, as Jessie was not her usual self.

Jessie got up this morning, she went to the toilet,

had a wee glass of water with her tablet,

then she had a cup of tea with a biscuit

and then she just went over

and that was basically why the boys found her.

So she wouldn't normally be this confused, then? No.

I'll give you something for your pain in your back now. Right.

Is it still bad? It is a bit sore. It is a bit sore, OK.

I don't know right what happened. They think it's a mini stroke.

OK, a little scratch on your arm, just keep still for me.

OK?

Oh! That's it. Just relax.

SIREN WAILS

We're travelling on blue lights because, with it being a stroke,

it's kind of time-critical from when it first happened.

The sooner we get her to A,

the sooner we can give her more definitive treatment,

if that's what they diagnose it as being.

We should be there in five minutes. Good.

We'll get you on a bit more comfortable bed.

How's your back? Not bad, it's my feet that are cold.

It's what, sorry? My feet that are cold.

It's your feet that's cold, your back's OK now? Good.

So we'll get you in the hospital

and get the doctor to have a look at you, get you sorted.

The ambulance crew hand over Jessie's care to the A team.

There you go, Jessie.

Is it still sore?

She's confused but she's got dementia as well, so...

But the daughter says she's not normally confused,

it's very different today.

Just going to pop this on your ear, Jessie. Thank you very much.

Thanks very much, guys.

Thanks very much. No bother. Thank you.

'I was quite pleased to see the doctors'

and the ambulance people.

And now the girls are looking after her.

Thanks to paramedics Andy and Charlie,

who pulled out all the stops

on a 70-mile round trip in challenging driving conditions,

Jessie's now in the best possible care.

Road conditions weren't very good.

The wind and the rain, and you've really got to concentrate 100%

because of the type of rural roads - you've got tractors,

you've got slow-moving vehicles.

You've got a lot of junctions and a lot of bends

and one thing and another.

But we got there safely.

Get her back on her feet with a bit of luck.

SHE SIGHS

Back on the motorway, PCs Cammy Thompson and Hazel Smith

have pulled a driver over in a routine vehicle check.

One of his passengers has been caught with drugs.

OK, what is this?

But that's not all.

The driver says he only has a Turkish licence.

So he's up next for scrutiny.

This is your driving licence, yes?

Do you have a British driving licence?

Do you have a provisional?

And how long have you lived in the United Kingdom for?

Right. OK.

A Turkish driving licence is not an EU approved driving licence

for the United Kingdom.

To drive in the United Kingdom

you have to have a full British driving licence

within a year of coming here.

So if you've been here for 15 years, for the last 14 of those

you should have been driving on a full British driving licence.

You know that, yes? Yes. OK.

With only a UK provisional licence,

the driver should be displaying L plates and be accompanied

by somebody with a full UK licence.

The front-seat passenger, what licence does he have?

Does he have a British licence?

No, he's got, er, Turkish licence. OK.

Without an accompanying driver,

he shouldn't have been behind the wheel,

let alone on the motorway.

You're not supervised and you're on a motorway,

so what's your reason for driving today?

Right.

OK, sir. Can you tell me who the owner of this car is?

And did your father give you permission to drive

this vehicle today?

No. OK, we'll need to speak to your father as well.

The plot keeps thickening.

Are you insured to drive this car?

And who's the insurance company?

You're not quite sure.

Did you tell the insurance company that you're

a holder of a provisional licence?

Sir, what's going to happen now is,

a report will go off to the court - OK? -

with a charge on it, and the charge will be, you did drive this

vehicle with a provisional licence and you're not being supervised.

Do you want to say anything in reply to that charge?

You may also get reported for taking

and driving your father's car without his permission

and driving with no insurance.

But we don't know that until we've done some further enquiries.

All right?

The vehicle is seized.

The officers drop the driver and passengers

at a nearby service station

so they can make other arrangements to continue their journey.

The owner of the car will need to provide the correct documentation

and pay the recovery costs before they can get it back.

And the driver may be facing more than one charge.

It's been all go for the emergency services in Scotland's rural areas.

The man caught driving illegally on the motorway was reported

to the Crown Office, who dished out an appropriate penalty.

The lorry driver is having his case referred to the Traffic Commissioner.

He may lose his HGV licence.

Jessie is back at home, being looked after by her family.

And the injured skier received treatment for his shoulder in hospital.

And you thought it was quiet in the countryside.