Episode 9 Countryside 999


Episode 9

Similar Content

Browse content similar to Episode 9. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!

Transcript


LineFromTo

Rural Britain has some of the most challenging

0:00:020:00:04

environments in the world.

0:00:040:00:06

In Scotland the mountains, lochs and coastline encourage tourists

0:00:060:00:09

and locals to get out into the wilds.

0:00:090:00:12

But with that comes danger.

0:00:120:00:15

The emergency services north of the border

0:00:230:00:25

have to deal with extreme challenges every day.

0:00:250:00:28

Raising the winch.

0:00:280:00:29

Keep your arms by your side!

0:00:290:00:31

From severe weather and treacherous terrain...

0:00:310:00:34

..to covering huge distances on rural roads with time against them.

0:00:370:00:42

We're doing about 85 miles per hour just now.

0:00:420:00:46

They work around the clock,

0:00:460:00:48

battling against some of the most difficult situations.

0:00:480:00:50

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

0:00:530:00:55

Side-by-side with Air Rescue saving lives.

0:00:550:00:58

On the road with paramedics caring for the injured,

0:00:590:01:02

and following the police, fighting crime,

0:01:020:01:05

as the emergency services work together, to pick up,

0:01:050:01:08

patch up and protect the public, in rural communities.

0:01:080:01:13

This is Countryside 999.

0:01:130:01:16

Coming up, paramedics race to a woman who's struggling to breathe.

0:01:340:01:39

The Royal Navy helicopter team scramble

0:01:440:01:47

to a serious accident in a remote forest...

0:01:470:01:50

..and police and paramedics deal with a night-time multi-car pile up.

0:01:530:01:57

Reaching far-flung locations quickly

0:02:120:02:15

can be difficult for rural emergency services,

0:02:150:02:17

and navigating remote forest is particularly challenging.

0:02:170:02:20

In Scotland, the timber and forestry industry

0:02:240:02:27

employs around 40,000 people, often in hard-to-reach places,

0:02:270:02:31

so, when accidents happen, getting to them is rarely easy.

0:02:310:02:36

On Scotland's south-west coast,

0:02:380:02:40

HMS Gannet operates one of the busiest Royal Navy search and rescue units

0:02:400:02:44

in Britain, covering an area 12 times the size of Wales.

0:02:440:02:48

PHONE RINGS

0:02:500:02:52

It's 2pm, and an emergency call has just come in.

0:02:520:02:57

Observer or Navigator Phil Gamble is taking the details.

0:02:570:03:01

Yep?

0:03:010:03:04

Chest, right arm and ankle, OK.

0:03:040:03:06

A forestry worker is reported to be badly injured,

0:03:060:03:08

crushed under a tree in remote woodland.

0:03:080:03:12

We're then going to Tighnabruaich

0:03:120:03:14

and in absence of the two, 975 728.

0:03:140:03:16

Also on call today are pilot Jon Green and winchman, Taff Ashman.

0:03:180:03:23

We've just been called to a possible tree surgeon or lumberjack

0:03:230:03:27

that's had a tree come down on top of him.

0:03:270:03:28

He's got various crush injuries,

0:03:280:03:30

sort of chest and left-hand side, I think it was, from the phone call.

0:03:300:03:34

We're going to go pick up a couple of doctors first

0:03:340:03:37

and we'll take it from there.

0:03:370:03:39

INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER

0:03:460:03:49

Co-pilot is Lloydy Shanahan, veteran of eight tours in Bosnia, Iraq

0:03:520:03:56

and Afghanistan. He's faced his fair share of enemies.

0:03:560:04:01

But today, he's up against one of the crew's biggest adversaries -

0:04:010:04:05

the weather.

0:04:050:04:06

The casualty is in remote woodland in Tighnabruaich,

0:04:170:04:21

on the Cowal Peninsula.

0:04:210:04:22

Early information suggests it's a serious injury.

0:04:240:04:27

So Lloydy and pilot Jon collect a paramedic

0:04:290:04:32

and doctor from the emergency medical retrieval team in Glasgow,

0:04:320:04:35

taking their specialist knowledge direct to the scene.

0:04:350:04:39

The Sea King helicopter is quickly airborne again.

0:04:480:04:51

But it's not long before they get a worrying update.

0:04:530:04:57

The man is trapped under a tree, but misty weather and

0:05:210:05:25

the impenetrable forest is playing havoc with the rescue, making it

0:05:250:05:29

difficult for teams on the ground to pinpoint his exact location.

0:05:290:05:32

The helicopter crew monitor communications from the scene.

0:05:380:05:42

It's not looking good.

0:05:490:05:51

If the teams on the ground can't find the casualty soon,

0:05:510:05:54

the navy crew will have to join the search for him on foot,

0:05:540:05:57

in dense forest and worsening weather.

0:05:570:06:00

In Dumfries and Galloway,

0:06:110:06:13

there's one member of the Ambulance Service

0:06:130:06:15

for every 15 square miles.

0:06:150:06:17

In London, there are 108.

0:06:170:06:21

Local lad and ambulance technician Malky McNeish

0:06:210:06:24

followed in his father's footsteps, joining the Ambulance Service

0:06:240:06:27

eight years ago.

0:06:270:06:29

He's on shift today,

0:06:290:06:31

with former Londoner and paramedic

0:06:310:06:33

of 20 years, Paul Votier.

0:06:330:06:36

They've just received an emergency call

0:06:380:06:40

to a woman in a critical condition.

0:06:400:06:43

The woman's daughter

0:06:430:06:44

and partner happen to be visiting from Birmingham

0:06:440:06:46

and were there to dial 999.

0:06:460:06:48

SIREN WAILS

0:07:070:07:09

The patient, Susan, lives in the small village of Ecclefechan,

0:07:090:07:12

6 and a half miles from Lockerbie.

0:07:120:07:14

Despite the wet roads, they get to Susan's house in 12 minutes flat.

0:07:160:07:20

-I'll drop you off.

-Listen, I'll get the bag and the 02.

-Right.

0:07:240:07:28

Once inside, Paul finds Susan gasping for breath.

0:07:330:07:37

He immediately fits her with a nebuliser containing Ventolin

0:07:370:07:40

to help expand her airways.

0:07:400:07:43

Paul finds out Susan has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease,

0:07:430:07:47

a serious lung condition that affects her breathing.

0:07:470:07:50

'When we first see this patient, she's in the kitchen'

0:07:580:08:00

and she had obvious signs of bronchospasms,

0:08:000:08:02

the way she was sitting, the audible wheeze, it's all signs that

0:08:020:08:06

her airway's constricting

0:08:060:08:07

and it's getting plugged by the mucus.

0:08:070:08:09

The treatment for that is Ventolin, which is,

0:08:090:08:13

we put into a nebuliser, we run oxygen through it

0:08:130:08:15

and what it does then is just starts opening up the airway

0:08:150:08:19

and starts loosening off the mucus so the airway starts getting bigger

0:08:190:08:23

and start getting her breathing under control.

0:08:230:08:26

Susan has smoked for 40 years

0:08:260:08:27

and knows it's been a contributing factor.

0:08:270:08:31

-Does it feel as if the oxygen is helping?

-Yes.

0:08:310:08:33

You're starting to speak to me in full sentences again,

0:08:330:08:36

-you're not so much...

-Not so much. Yeah.

0:08:360:08:39

-Have you got a pair of slippers or anything you want to put on?

-Er, no.

0:08:440:08:48

The drugs are now slowly kicking in.

0:08:480:08:50

But Susan's condition could deteriorate at any moment.

0:08:520:08:56

They must get her to the specialist care she needs.

0:08:560:09:00

You pop your feet up.

0:09:000:09:01

Any allergies at all, Susan?

0:09:040:09:06

SHE COUGHS

0:09:100:09:12

The coughing's making it even harder for Susan to breathe.

0:09:120:09:16

So she is given a second dose of Ventolin.

0:09:160:09:19

SHE COUGHS

0:09:190:09:21

Her daughter Joanne is accompanying her to the hospital.

0:09:250:09:28

This might make you cough a little bit more,

0:09:310:09:33

-it loosens it all up, OK?

-SHE COUGHS

0:09:330:09:37

That's what we want.

0:09:370:09:39

Just going to take your temperature, Susan, OK, in your ear.

0:09:390:09:42

It's been an alarming ordeal for Joanne.

0:09:420:09:45

It takes 25 minutes to make the 17-mile journey to hospital.

0:10:030:10:07

But the drugs continue to ease Susan's breathing.

0:10:070:10:11

She's delivered to a specialist team who will ensure

0:10:110:10:15

there are no blockages that may stop her breathing again.

0:10:150:10:18

If she hadn't had that treatment, if we weren't called,

0:10:180:10:21

her airway would have closed.

0:10:210:10:24

It would have just closed.

0:10:240:10:25

And she would, at some point, have lost consciousness,

0:10:250:10:28

she would have collapsed and I think she would have died, maybe.

0:10:280:10:31

If we weren't called.

0:10:310:10:33

In remote woodland near Tighnabruaich in Argyll,

0:10:450:10:49

the Royal Navy search and rescue team are desperately searching

0:10:490:10:52

for a seriously injured lumberjack.

0:10:520:10:55

Dreadful weather and thick forest mean rescue teams

0:10:550:10:58

on the ground have failed to locate the casualty.

0:10:580:11:00

They believe he's pinned under a tree with crush injuries,

0:11:030:11:07

so the helicopter crew need to find him fast.

0:11:070:11:09

Pilot Jon skilfully flies the 10-ton Sea King

0:11:210:11:24

in the gap between the low cloud base and the treetops.

0:11:240:11:28

But visibility is poor.

0:11:290:11:31

And the casualty is nowhere to be seen.

0:11:330:11:36

The team prepare to lower winchman Taff to look

0:11:410:11:44

for the casualty on foot.

0:11:440:11:45

Lower the winch.

0:11:560:11:58

Taff spots an 80-foot weather mast looming ahead,

0:12:050:12:09

a dangerous hazard for the helicopter hovering nearby.

0:12:090:12:12

We've got good visuals on the trees,

0:12:270:12:29

but obviously the mist is lingering above them,

0:12:290:12:32

and then all of a sudden you see a mast just come out of the fog.

0:12:320:12:37

It's a bit like driving a car and all of a sudden you see

0:12:370:12:40

an animal on the road in front of you.

0:12:400:12:42

Pilot Jon must be extremely careful.

0:12:470:12:49

If the helicopter's 9-metre rotor blades get caught

0:12:490:12:52

in the mast's cables, it could send them crashing to the ground.

0:12:520:12:56

But, in finding it, they also spot something else.

0:13:010:13:05

The coastguard on the ground have found the injured man.

0:13:140:13:18

The crew uplift Taff and head towards the casualty,

0:13:250:13:29

who is located worryingly close to the 80-foot mast.

0:13:290:13:32

Paramedic Nicola needs to be winched down,

0:13:390:13:42

but Jon is anxious about hovering so close to the dangerous obstacle.

0:13:420:13:46

One of the big things to be aware of when you're flying anywhere near

0:13:500:13:54

a very tall mast is that they've got long cables

0:13:540:13:57

securing them that come out quite a way from the mast and generally,

0:13:570:14:01

the taller the mast is, the further away from the mast these cables go.

0:14:010:14:04

80 yards.

0:14:040:14:05

Manoeuvring so close to the mast is testing

0:14:080:14:11

the mettle of the entire team.

0:14:110:14:13

With the lumberjack wedged under a tree suffering from crush injuries,

0:14:180:14:22

the crew must winch Taff and the medic down as quickly as they can.

0:14:220:14:26

Carrying out emergency operations in difficult conditions

0:14:380:14:42

is par for the course in rural areas.

0:14:420:14:44

Earlier, paramedic Paul Votier

0:14:460:14:48

and ambulance technician Malky McNeish navigated wet country roads

0:14:480:14:52

to get Susan to hospital when she was struggling to breathe.

0:14:520:14:56

Now they must negotiate more rainy roads, this time in darkness,

0:14:590:15:04

in response to a 999 call they have just received.

0:15:040:15:07

Two cars have crashed on the M74 motorway.

0:15:070:15:11

You know, somebody has maybe either aquaplaned or a tyre has blown

0:15:120:15:17

and they've maybe hit the central reservation, bounced back out.

0:15:170:15:20

It could be two cars colliding, it could be anything, really.

0:15:200:15:23

SIRENS BLARE

0:15:230:15:25

A call like this requires a joint effort

0:15:250:15:28

between the emergency services.

0:15:280:15:30

Police officers Stuart Delaney

0:15:300:15:32

and David Holland are also racing to the scene.

0:15:320:15:34

We've just had a call from the control room, telling us

0:15:360:15:40

that there is a two vehicle collision

0:15:400:15:43

just north of Gretna.

0:15:430:15:45

We don't know if there's any injuries at the moment.

0:15:450:15:48

Motorway accidents are particularly hazardous.

0:15:500:15:53

With high-speed traffic on a dark, rainy night,

0:15:530:15:56

a two-car crash can easily turn into a multi-car pile up.

0:15:560:15:59

The officers are first on scene.

0:16:020:16:05

There is one damaged car on the hard shoulder

0:16:050:16:08

and another is in a nearside lane, so they cone off the area.

0:16:080:16:11

After the crash, driver Dennis and his passenger fled their car,

0:16:120:16:16

which was dangerously stranded in the middle of the motorway.

0:16:160:16:20

How are you doing, folks? Were you involved at all?

0:16:200:16:25

Right, which is your car?

0:16:250:16:28

They've just dragged it off? All right.

0:16:280:16:30

What's this car here? Was that involved as well?

0:16:300:16:34

So that's involved as well. Who was driving that?

0:16:340:16:37

It appears there were more than two cars involved

0:16:390:16:42

in this motorway crash.

0:16:420:16:43

We'll just get this car off. >

0:16:430:16:45

Just moments after Dennis and his friends escaped their car,

0:16:450:16:48

it was hit by a second vehicle.

0:16:480:16:50

Now that vehicle is stranded in lane one and the driver can't shift it.

0:16:500:16:55

Is this your car, is it? Can you drive it off at all?

0:16:560:17:00

It won't move? Right, okey-dokes.

0:17:030:17:07

We'll just have to drag it off. OK?

0:17:070:17:10

When you arrive on the scene of an accident like that,

0:17:100:17:12

you've got so many things to consider, you have to consider

0:17:120:17:15

your safety, your colleague's safety, every member of the public's safety.

0:17:150:17:20

When the traffic is not flowing properly,

0:17:200:17:23

it tends to cause more accidents as well.

0:17:230:17:26

It's rush hour,

0:17:290:17:30

so the police tow the car off the carriageway themselves.

0:17:300:17:33

Yeah, roger, 4342459.

0:17:360:17:40

That's the vehicle clear of the carriageway.

0:17:400:17:43

Altaf saw the accident ahead.

0:17:440:17:47

But too late.

0:17:470:17:49

The car was right in the middle of the road when I was coming.

0:17:490:17:52

So I just tried to pull to the left side,

0:17:520:17:55

but still I hit the front of that car.

0:17:550:17:58

PCs David and Stuart walk up the hard shoulder to find

0:18:000:18:05

the third car involved.

0:18:050:18:06

Down the offside, I think.

0:18:070:18:09

Tyres are all right.

0:18:090:18:11

You'd say that's driveable.

0:18:140:18:15

It may be driveable,

0:18:210:18:23

but the car's driver Adam has knocked his head in the crash.

0:18:230:18:26

Paramedics Malky and Paul have just arrived on scene.

0:18:310:18:35

They assess Adam's injury.

0:18:350:18:37

When you spun the car,

0:18:380:18:40

did you say that your head banged against the window?

0:18:400:18:43

That's fine. Definitely no pain in your neck?

0:18:430:18:46

-No, it feels OK.

-Can you put your chin on your chest?

0:18:460:18:49

-Is it sore to do that? No?

-A little bit.

-Right.

0:18:490:18:52

And what about side to side?

0:18:520:18:53

-Yeah, OK.

-Fine. That's good.

-Just here feels...

0:18:560:18:58

Aye, so it's mainly just that you've had a bang on the head, I think.

0:18:580:19:02

Adam's head injury is minor, but he is still in shock.

0:19:020:19:06

Driving along.

0:19:060:19:07

Yeah, just out of the blue, erm,

0:19:070:19:10

someone hit the side of the car and luckily...

0:19:100:19:14

there was nobody on the inside.

0:19:140:19:16

I managed to keep control and got it on to the hard shoulder.

0:19:160:19:19

Big shock. Yeah. Real surprise.

0:19:190:19:23

They've all walked out their vehicle, so it could have been a lot worse.

0:19:230:19:27

But it's a good outcome to what looks like quite a bad accident.

0:19:270:19:32

With no other injured parties,

0:19:320:19:35

the paramedics can leave the police to pick up the pieces.

0:19:350:19:39

David and Stuart now have the task of finding out exactly how

0:19:390:19:43

this three-car pile up happened.

0:19:430:19:45

On the remote Cowal Peninsula on Scotland's west coast,

0:19:540:19:57

the Royal Navy search and rescue team are racing to find

0:19:570:20:01

an injured lumberjack who has been crushed under a tree.

0:20:010:20:04

It's a joint effort between local paramedics

0:20:100:20:12

and the Coast Guard, who have just found the casualty,

0:20:120:20:15

and two emergency medics who are airlifted to treat the man

0:20:150:20:18

on site in this remote location.

0:20:180:20:20

Paramedic Nicola will be winched down to assess the casualty,

0:20:230:20:26

who they believe is suffering from crush injuries.

0:20:260:20:30

OK. Good position. Good position.

0:20:300:20:32

But the lumberjack is next to a large mast,

0:20:330:20:36

making it difficult for the helicopter to hover.

0:20:360:20:38

Observer Phil has directed the Sea King to a safe position.

0:20:510:20:55

Winchman Taff is lowered down first from a height of 130 feet,

0:21:000:21:06

quickly followed by paramedic Nicola.

0:21:060:21:08

Lower the winch. Lower the winch.

0:21:100:21:13

Lower the winch.

0:21:130:21:15

Lower the winch. Lower the winch.

0:21:150:21:17

They discover the lumberjack is no longer trapped under the tree

0:21:220:21:25

and his condition is not as bad as they had feared,

0:21:250:21:29

but his crush injuries are causing a lot of pain.

0:21:290:21:32

Myself and Nicola went down and I made an assessment of the guy.

0:21:320:21:36

The injuries were not life-threatening.

0:21:360:21:38

I think he had a broken or a dislocation to his arm

0:21:380:21:41

and a few other minor cuts and bruises, but certainly not

0:21:410:21:46

the life-threatening crush injuries that we thought.

0:21:460:21:49

Since the injured lumberjack is able to move, winchman Taff

0:21:490:21:52

radios up to confirm a stretcher will not be needed.

0:21:520:21:55

Paramedic Nicola is winched up first.

0:22:090:22:11

Finally lumberjack Scott is safely uplifted.

0:22:350:22:39

Scott's arm and leg injuries are taking their toll.

0:22:470:22:50

Nicola administers the pain relieving gas Entonox.

0:22:500:22:53

It's a short flight back to base where an ambulance is waiting.

0:22:570:23:01

It might be just a short distance to the stretcher,

0:23:030:23:05

but it's a giant step for a lumberjack with an injured foot.

0:23:050:23:10

A last blast of Entonox and he takes the plunge.

0:23:100:23:14

HE GROANS

0:23:190:23:21

Right. Turn around. Turn around.

0:23:210:23:24

Scott is handed over to local paramedics who will take him

0:23:260:23:29

to the hospital ten minutes away.

0:23:290:23:32

Another successful joint effort from the team at HMS Gannet.

0:23:330:23:37

Like the search and rescue team, paramedics and police

0:23:490:23:53

have also joined forces in Dumfries.

0:23:530:23:55

They're working together to make sure passengers

0:23:550:23:58

and vehicles involved in a multi-car collision

0:23:580:24:00

on a motorway aren't in harm's way, or endangering other road users.

0:24:000:24:05

Incredibly, the three drivers

0:24:080:24:10

and passenger have escaped almost unharmed.

0:24:100:24:12

That's fine. Definitely no pain in your neck?

0:24:140:24:16

No, feels OK.

0:24:160:24:18

Now PCs David Holland and Stuart Delaney must get to the bottom

0:24:180:24:22

of what could have caused the accident.

0:24:220:24:25

They start with the first driver, Dennis.

0:24:250:24:28

But it is not as straightforward as they thought.

0:24:290:24:32

There's more to this accident than meets the eye.

0:24:420:24:45

Dennis reveals he was first hit by a mystery fourth vehicle,

0:24:460:24:51

which seems to have left the scene.

0:24:510:24:53

Then he hit Adam from the impact of the crash.

0:24:530:24:56

Dennis and his passenger legged it to the hard shoulder

0:24:560:24:59

before Altaf hit the back of Dennis's abandoned vehicle.

0:24:590:25:02

It wasn't just three cars involved as we initially thought, but there

0:25:040:25:09

was a fourth car that had possibly caused the accident

0:25:090:25:13

that had failed to stop.

0:25:130:25:15

Stuart questions the third car's driver, Adam, to see

0:25:150:25:18

if he can help identify the elusive fourth vehicle.

0:25:180:25:21

On a busy motorway in the pitch black,

0:25:360:25:39

establishing the facts can be difficult.

0:25:390:25:42

Stuart contacts the control room to ask other units to

0:25:420:25:45

be on the lookout for the other missing fourth car.

0:25:450:25:47

It's like looking for a needle in a haystack.

0:25:490:25:52

The vehicle which has caused this hasn't stopped,

0:25:520:25:55

it's continued northwards. It's obviously got a 25 minute head start.

0:25:550:26:01

We don't have any details of it whatsoever other than it's dark in colour.

0:26:010:26:05

11% of traffic accidents in Britain in 2011 were hit-and-runs like this.

0:26:070:26:13

They would have known they had been involved in a collision

0:26:130:26:17

and, therefore, they have a duty to stop and report that,

0:26:170:26:21

which they haven't done, so should I manage to trace

0:26:210:26:24

the driver of that vehicle, or the vehicle,

0:26:240:26:26

then they will get reported for failing to stop

0:26:260:26:29

and report an accident and also probably careless driving.

0:26:290:26:33

Both these charges carry heavy penalties with a fine,

0:26:350:26:38

points and possible disqualification.

0:26:380:26:41

Failing to stop can even result in six months in prison.

0:26:410:26:45

The scene is cleared of cars and debris,

0:26:500:26:52

all lanes reopened and the driver is taken home.

0:26:520:26:56

This turned out to be a four-car collision on a fast flowing motorway.

0:26:560:27:00

But miraculously all those involved have walked away relatively unharmed.

0:27:000:27:05

Certainly what the drivers are saying has happened is it doesn't

0:27:060:27:11

appear that any of them are to blame. There may be a fourth vehicle involved,

0:27:110:27:15

but the main thing is all the drivers are OK, there's no injuries and we'll

0:27:150:27:20

put what's known as a statistical report in for insurance purposes,

0:27:200:27:27

basically. Whether anybody gets reported or not remains to be seen.

0:27:270:27:31

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

0:27:410:27:45

Susan spent two weeks in hospital after a relapse.

0:27:480:27:52

Thanks to the medical care she received,

0:27:520:27:55

she is now back home and getting rehab in her local cottage hospital.

0:27:550:28:00

After being a smoker for 40 years, she's now quit.

0:28:000:28:04

The mysterious fourth vehicle involved in the crash

0:28:060:28:09

on the M74 was never found.

0:28:090:28:12

Now the insurance companies will take over

0:28:120:28:15

and decide who pays out to whom.

0:28:150:28:17

And lumberjack Scott was delivered safely to hospital where

0:28:190:28:22

he received the specialist medical care he needed.

0:28:220:28:25

And you thought it was quiet in the countryside.

0:28:260:28:29

Download Subtitles

SRT

ASS