Episode 8 Countryside 999

From the Highlands of Scotland to the coast of Cornwall,

the Great British countryside is spectacular.

But we work and play in it at our peril.

And when things go wrong,

the emergency services race to the rescue...

This chap is having a heart attack and we need to get him in quickly.

We've got a cow on the road. Countryside policing at its finest!

..going hundreds of miles against the clock,

battling the elements and braving the waves.

From fields and forests to cliffs and country roads,

we'll be right at the heart of the action

with police fighting crime...

I'm not arguing it, I'm reporting you for it.

Paramedics saving lives...

BABY CRIES

And lifeguards patrolling the seas.

We're there as the emergency services pull together

to pick up, patch up and protect the public.

This is Countryside 999.

Coming up, Countryside cops wage war on dodgy drivers in Wales.

The Cornwall Air Ambulance race to reach a man

suffering a massive heart attack.

And paramedics pick up a pensioner

who's had a nasty fall north of the border.

The great outdoors.

We Brits make nearly three billion trips

to the countryside every year.

A relaxing run in the country may be a favourite national pastime,

but scenic doesn't always mean safe.

Forget the sedate Sunday driver,

meet middle-aged man and his motorbike.

Powys in Wales has 3,400 miles of road

and bikers come from across Britain to enjoy its stunning routes.

They make up just 1% of the local traffic,

but account for 37% of the people killed or seriously injured.

Today, PC Gareth Earp and Andy Rogers of Powys police

are patrolling in an unmarked car

in and around the village of Bwlch, a hot spot for antisocial driving.

So, we're out here in Bwlch

just checking the speed limits, enforce the speed limits

and deal with any offences we can find in the motorcyclists.

Every Sunday we run Operation Darwin,

which is an operation to set up to educate and enforce the laws

with regards to motorcyclists and cars, but mainly motorcyclists.

Ex-armed-response cop Gareth has been working in traffic

for two years after swapping his assault rifle for a speed gun.

GUN BEEPS

Oh, no.

Generally, most serious injury

or fatal accidents we have involving motorcycles

are on a Saturday or mainly a Sunday, Sunday afternoon.

And just by us being here,

the bikes will wave to the other bikes telling them to slow down,

if that works, that's brilliant, cos they'll ride slower.

It's not long before Gareth spots his first

speeding biker and gives chase.

He may overtake on a double white line or do a dangerous overtake,

he's actually riding quite tidily in all fairness to him.

Although he's driving at 80 mile an hour in places.

He's turning off here.

He's not the ones we want, really. He's riding tidy.

Although he's touched 80, the biker gets away with it, this time.

But 20 minutes later, he's back, and riding his luck.

ALARM BEEPS

There you are, 43.

MOTORCYCLE WHIZZES

The motorbike we followed earlier that pulled off in front of us,

that was doing about 80 miles an hour, he's just come through now at 43 miles an hour.

There's enough there to pull him over and have a chat to him.

Looks like this Steve McQueen won't be making his great escape.

We're sat there doing speed checks in Bwlch

and you've just come through there at 43 miles an hour.

Through Bwlch. That little village, there, 30-miles-an-hour zone,

you were doing 43 miles an hour.

I've never met you before, never seen the bike,

but over the last 20 minutes,

I've seen you doing 80 miles an hour on the main road, and then, 43.

I can't ignore the both of them.

The reason we're there, lot of complaints from the locals

about antisocial riding of motorbikes and things,

you know, speed of vehicles going through, loud exhaust.

..No, fair one. If you comply with the fixed-penalty ticket,

no further action will be taken. If you don't comply with the ticket,

you'll have a summons through the post to go to court.

The biker's slapped with a £100 fine

and Gareth and Andy scout for a new hiding place.

But it's not just the two-wheeled weekend warriors

pushing their luck today.

ALARM BEEPS

At 81, he can have a ticket for that.

-Hello, sir, are you all right?

-Yeah, fine, thanks.

-Do you know why I stopped you?

-No.

We were parked at the bottom of the hill down by the toilets,

you had a motorbike behind you,

you pulled out and overtook a couple of cars going up a hill,

one car it was, and you went up to 82 miles an hour when you overtook.

That bike was behind you initially.

Have you got any points on your licence at all?

82 is not...

82 miles an hour is 22 miles an hour

more than you should be doing, yeah.

82 is fine for Brands Hatch,

not the Brecon National Park.

Unfortunately my hands are tied, 82 miles an hour,

you're almost out of the realms of having a ticket, OK,

it's quite fast for these roads on a Sunday,

there's motorbikes on the road, other road users.

82 miles, and you have a crash doing that,

someone's going to get hurt. It's my job to go out there

and enforce the speed limits on the road.

Half of all road deaths in the UK

occur on single-carriageway rural roads like this.

There's a strict speed limit of 60,

and a limit to Gareth's sympathy, too.

I have got leniency, but at 82 miles an hour,

there's not, my hands are tied, aren't they, yeah?

Have you got any ID on you a all?

The two options you've got, you can have a fixed-penalty ticket

which is three points and a £100 fine,

or you can opt to go to court within six months.

Just watch your speed, there's a lot of us about today,

and there's a lot ahead of you as well. So, just watch your speed.

Later, it gets awkward when a nurse spends a penny

and gets more than she bargains for.

Hello, you all right?

No, I've got to use the loo!

For those of us lucky enough to live in the countryside,

rural living is officially good for our health,

but there is a trade-off.

Miles from nowhere can mean miles from help.

One rural emergency service going that extra country mile

to get us medical care quickly, is Cornwall's Air Ambulance.

From its new base in Newquay,

the Helimed flies up to four missions daily.

One in three of those will be patients with serious medical conditions.

And today a 999 call has just come in.

A man is suffering a massive heart attack and needs airlifted urgently.

On shift, aircrew paramedics are Ben Mayhew up front

with the pilot and Mark Fuszard.

We've been asked to go and attend an incident

of a 65-year-old male who is having a heart attack

in ASDA in St Austell.

The crew have got on scene

and have done a preliminary ECG and he's pale and sweaty.

So, we need to get him into hospital pretty quickly.

The team are heading 15 miles east to St Austell.

The 65-year-old man collapsed whilst out shopping.

His wife found him slumped against the wheel of their car.

It simply doesn't get more urgent.

We have a saying which is, "Time is muscle,"

and the longer that muscle of the heart isn't getting oxygen,

then that part of the heart will die.

We need to get oxygen to that part of the heart

so it will function again correctly.

Someone in the UK has a heart attack every two minutes.

One in three of those will die before reaching hospital.

What this man needs most is time.

And the Helimed can give him that.

By road he's probably about 35 minutes,

but what we have got to take into consideration as well

is it's half-past five, and it's going to be fairly busy roads

in and around the Truro and the St Austell area,

so 35 minutes at best

whereas we're going to be less than ten minutes

flying him from the scene to the hospital

so, he's going to be in the cath lab being operated on

before the land ambulance would probably even get there.

Just 15 minutes after receiving the 999 call,

the crew spot the supermarket.

There's ASDA.

The road's been closed...

we're right over the back of it, see that big white building?

See the posts?

They can't land in a busy supermarket car park,

so, the crew have planned to use the grounds of a nearby rugby club.

But first, they've got to find it.

Two seconds, guys, I'm not sure this is the right rugby club.

-Right, OK.

-It's right behind ASDA, so...

Let me just get my bearings.

Within minutes, they find the rugby club.

Over on your one o'clock there's an ambulance there already.

And it looks like the paramedics are already there with the patient.

The crew now need to get him to hospital quickly

or he could go into full cardiac arrest.

Every minute's delay is heart muscle lost.

Back in Wales, PCs Gareth and Andy have been

on the prowl for country speeders.

Earlier, they booked a biker for doing 43 in a 30 zone

and a motorist doing 82 in a 60 zone.

But saving lives isn't just about killing speed.

The pair spot a driver using a mobile phone.

Obviously, driving on the phone, you're not paying full attention

to the vehicles ahead and the changing road environment.

Hello, you all right?

-No, I've got to use the loo.

-Do you know why I stopped you or followed you?

I was on the phone cos my work called me.

-Can I use the toilet quickly?

-Yeah, go on.

She might be off the phone,

but there's still one urgent call to answer.

Come back here when you've been.

Giving Gareth and Andy the chance to stretch their legs.

Local carer Lisa had just taken a work call

when Gareth and Andy spotted her.

Do you know why I stopped you?

-Cos I answered a work call.

-You drove past us.

You had the phone up to your right ear, followed you in here,

you were still on it when you pulled up here, OK. Fair cop?

-Oh, absolutely.

-Right, have you got any points on your licence?

No! I don't want any either.

Unfortunately, being on the phone when you're driving

-is three points, a £100 fine.

-OK.

I've got no option other than to give you a ticket

or offer you a trial in court.

What would you rather take, a ticket at the roadside, or go to court?

-I've committed an offence.

-A lot of people don't see it as straight as you.

It's straightforward, I committed the offence. How do I get rid of the points?

-Right, let me get a ticket out.

-I can't have many.

-You can have 12.

-No, I cannot.

-How long have you had your licence?

-In this country or in America?

-In this country, then.

-Four months.

-Four months.

-How long in America?

-20 years.

20 years. You can have six in this country.

-How can I get rid of them?

-They come off in three years.

A lot of people have points on their licence these days,

most people have points on their licence.

-I don't want them on my licence.

-I know.

-Right, have you got any ID?

-I've got my driver's licence.

Can I have a look at that, please?

Lisa's had her UK Licence less than two years

so she can only carry up to six points.

Three more after today and she could lose her licence.

Driving using a mobile is a serious offence.

You're less aware of your surroundings

and four times more likely to have an accident.

Right, couple of things, you don't have to say anything,

but it may harm your defence if you do not mention, when questioned,

something you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence.

Not under arrest, just means I can write down any answers you give me.

Next step for Gareth is to take her licence.

You can either give both parts to me now and I'll get them sorted out

with the points, or you can opt to take them to the nearest...

-You are going to take that away from me?

-Yeah.

-What do I use to drive?

-This ticket, this becomes your licence.

It's up to you, you can either take them to the police station

within seven days and they can take them off you

or I can take them off you now and save you going to the police station.

I don't even know where the police station is!

If you get the other bit for me, I'll take it in.

Just a bit of advice for you, a lot of people get hurt on these roads

-with accidents...

-Oh, yeah.

-..killed, particularly on the A40.

If you are on the phone, you get distracted, even...

You don't realise how distracted you are.

-You didn't see us parked there.

-No, I didn't!

-Exactly, cos you were on the phone.

-Right.

So Lisa is hit with a £100 fine and three points,

but has she learned her lesson?

It's taught me to turn the phone off when I'm in the car, that's all.

Later, the cardiac team race to save Ted's life.

A pensioner gets in a pickle over her paperwork.

Certificate of motor insurance, there you are.

OK, let's have a look at it.

That's for a Ford Fiesta, you've got a Ford Escort.

First, it's paramedics to the rescue

as a Dumfries driver runs out of breath.

Shaking, just my whole body is shaking.

Just a horrible, horrible feeling.

Dumfries and Galloway, a population of 148,000

scattered across 2,500 square miles of farmland and forests.

Just under half of all its towns and villages

are classed as remote and rural,

small communities where everybody knows everybody.

When you're a rural paramedic, sooner or later

you are going to find yourself patching up somebody you know.

Today, paramedics Cormac O'Neil and Karen Richardson

are responding to an emergency call from the local cops.

A man has been found by the side of the road.

He's struggling to breathe.

The crew hit the blue lights

and head seven miles north of Lockerbie

to the village of Johnstonebridge.

The man is with cops after flagging them down for help,

but Cormac and Karen are struggling to find him or the police.

..fitting the description. Over.

Eventually they find him.

For local lass Karen, it's a shock to see a familiar face.

As paramedic team leader, Cormac's first on the scene to help.

32-year-old local lad Euan had been driving

when he suddenly felt ill and had to pull off the motorway.

That's what's gone on, we just really need to

control the breathing. It will pass. It will pass.

You've no chest complaints like asthma or anything, have you?

-No, I used to have asthma, but...

-Aye, you are too good a colour

for there to be much wrong. I think you're actually breathing too well.

Cormac quickly sees Euan's life isn't in danger,

but it might not feel like that for poor Euan.

He's having a panic attack and is struggling to control his breathing.

So, under any sort of stress lately?

No, just working long hours, that's all.

It's the pins and needles and tightness in my chest

-that is making me panic.

-It's exactly what it is.

It's exactly what it is.

-I had to stop three times on the motorway.

-That's exactly what it is,

it's just controlling the breathing is the key to this.

Did your hands tighten up into like a spasm sort of thing?

No, just...shaking, just my whole body was shaking.

Just a horrible, horrible feeling.

That's just a sign of a panic attack, is the tingling in the fingers.

Don't normally see it in the toes, like, but certainly in the hands.

When we arrived, we very quickly established that he was

suffering from a panic attack.

Obviously, it was something which had actually built on him

for the previous hour, hour and a half,

he wasn't actually able to control his own breathing.

Panic attacks are not life-threatening,

but can be pretty traumatic,

often coming out of the blue and difficult to control.

Cormac's confident Euan's in no danger,

but he's keen to give him a quick check over.

Your blood pressure's raised a bit, but as you've gone through

a stressful experience, you'd expect that to be slightly raised, OK?

Oxygen saturation, because you have been hyperventilating

is bound to be very high, 99%. Heart rate's normal.

I just wanted to check that.

How are you feeling right now, is the tingling still there?

-Yeah, it is.

-Is it getting less?

-It comes and goes.

Do you smoke, Euan?

Yeah, but I've not had any on the way down the road.

Euan's still not feeling 100%,

so Cormac goes for a tried and tested remedy - the paper bag.

Breathe in, I want to see the bag open and close. That's it.

This may take a few minutes to work, OK?

Notice any difference at all in your fingers now?

-A wee bit. I'm starting to feel dizzy.

-What's that?

-I'm starting to feel dizzy.

-You feel dizzy now?

-A wee bit,

just still feel like I've got a tight chest.

That will resolve, it will resolve.

Euan's breathless feeling is caused by breathing too fast

and putting too much oxygen in his bloodstream.

Breathing in and out of a paper bag

means he's breathing in carbon dioxide,

which should balance out the oxygen levels and make him feel better.

It's a bit of a downward spiral, panic sets in, you hyperventilate,

tightness in the chest, feel like you are going to pass out,

some folk actually do.

It's a pretty effective, albeit crude, way of sorting it.

It does work.

Take as long as you need to resolve.

And the bag is doing the trick.

-I've still got a wee tingling there, but it's nothing...

-Is it tingling?

Just a wee tingle there,

but I don't know if it's cos I've been sitting on my hands.

With his breathing under control, Euan's starting to feel much better.

This is just to state that you're not coming into hospital with us

and you are happy with advice we've given you, OK?

In this case, despite all the wonderful kit

we have in the back of the ambulance,

a paper bag did the trick. We just got him to re-breathe into that,

keeping a pretty close eye on him and it did resolve

after 20, 25 minutes, whatever,

and he didn't need to travel to hospital.

Don't want to keep this as a souvenir, no?

No. I might buy myself a set!

Basically, all this is saying, Euan,

if it happens again or if you feel it coming on,

if you can just try and calm down,

try and regulate your breathing.

If available, get a paper bag,

just do exactly as you were doing there and just breathe it away.

OK?

Thanks to Karen and Cormac's bag of tricks,

Euan's now well enough to head home.

I was just coming back from Glasgow, just finished work,

and when I was coming down the motorway

I started to feel a bit sick and light-headed

and I started to get pins and needles.

So I pulled over four times and then I pulled off the motorway

and I was just heading to Lockerbie

and then I started to get the feeling again

and I thought I was going to pass out or faint

so I pulled over and phoned an ambulance.

I was just panicking a bit and I just felt light-headed

and the ambulance crew sorted me out

and helped me start my breathing again.

So I think I was just heavy breathing and I feel a lot better,

just a wee bit peace of mind

after the ambulance people have told me that I'm OK.

Back in Cornwall, the Air Ambulance team

are racing to a man who has collapsed in a supermarket car park.

There's ASDA.

65-year-old Ted was found by his wife,

slumped at the wheel of their car.

He's suffering a massive heart attack.

His life hangs in the balance.

Road paramedics are doing everything they can for him in the ambulance.

Every single minute is agony for Ted.

Ted, I'm just going to pop some of this spray

under your tongue, my love, all right? That's it.

The nitro-glycerine spray should help his chest pain.

-Ted?

-Hello, Ted, my name is Ben.

You may have just heard the helicopter arrive,

we just came in and landed right next to where you are,

and we're going to pop you off down to Treliske.

Ted, has that made any difference to the pain?

All right, so we're ready to go.

The team work quickly to prepare Ted for transfer

to the Coronary Care Unit or CCU at Royal Cornwall Hospital at Treliske.

This chap is having a heart attack

and we need to get him in fairly quickly,

so hopefully Treliske are actually awaiting our arrival,

so we should be there within about eight or nine minutes.

But it's important that we get him in very quickly.

Is everybody happy to do a lift across

onto the stretcher by just using the sheets?

It's a multi-team effort

from the aircrew and two road ambulance crews.

Now Mark can focus on easing Ted's pain.

Ted? You haven't?

Can you just nod or shake your head?

Have you had any paracetamol today? No?

OK, we're going to give you some paracetamol

through the little tube in your arm, in the cannula.

Have you any problems with paracetamol,

do you normally take it?

Ted? Just shake or nod or your head. You normally take it.

We're only about six or seven minutes to the hospital

and we are going to get you sorted out

and we'll give you something for this pain.

It's likely Ted's heart attack is caused by a blocked artery.

This blockage is causing this pain, the blockage in his heart,

in his coronary artery.

They'll be able to open the coronary artery up in Treliske, in CCU,

and that is predominantly what we want to get done

and fairly quickly.

In just nine minutes, the Helimed arrives at Treliske.

Ted, how are we doing? We're at hospital now.

And it's quickly into the Coronary Care Unit.

Mark and Ben transfer Ted to the CCU team.

How's the pain now, has it come down at all?

A little bit.

What we want to do is unblock that coronary artery

and get the muscle reperfused again

and get the oxygen back to that muscle.

What the guys in CCU are going to do

is put a little tube in, put a stent in,

so we can bypass that little blockage

and hopefully get his heart working again.

Time is of the essence, it needs to be done as soon as we can,

hence why we have flown him in.

Just 50 minutes after the Helimed team reach Ted,

he's on the operating table.

Everything rests on finding and clearing that blocked artery quickly.

Not only could it save Ted's life right now,

it'll give him a fighting chance

of making a good recovery in the long-term.

Back in Wales, PCs Gareth and Andy

have been busy booking reckless road users

in the village of Bwlch.

Now they're in Brecon, looking for dodgy motors.

They're using ANPR,

or Automatic Number Plate Recognition.

RADIO: 'MOT in order, insurance showing as not held.'

And it's just snagged someone.

Hello, all right? Could you just pull up here for us a minute?

I want to have a chat to you.

-We're the police, we are, we're in an unmarked car.

-Sorry!

73-year-old Anne finds a safe place to pull over.

The reason we've stopped you today,

your car has shown up as having no insurance on it, OK?

My vehicle has read the number plate

and it says there's no insurance on it.

We've done a check on the database

and that also says there's no insurance on the vehicle.

Do you think you've got insurance?

Where do you live?

Opposite the rugby club, just down the road here.

All right, I'll follow you down there.

You've got the certificate back there, have you?

Gareth decides to head back to Anne's house

to find her insurance documents.

-You jump on that if you want.

-You sure?

Yeah, yeah, don't worry about us.

I get very puffed out...

Yeah, you go up on that, we'll follow you up now.

Send it back down and we'll use it.

Whatever you do, don't smoke, cos in your old age it catches up with you.

Don't get old.

THEY LAUGH

So, you haven't had any letters or anything like that

from your insurance company recently?

No. I've had the confirmation letter through but...

It's here somewhere.

Certificate of Motor Insurance, there you are.

-OK, can I have a look at it?

-To the 25th of May, 2014.

-Yeah.

Everything seems to be in order

but ever-thorough Gareth double checks her number plate.

9-6-4. This here now is R964, and it's for a Ford Fiesta.

Oops! Anne's got her reg number and model type wrong.

-Ford Escort.

-I've got a Ford Fiesta.

-No, that's an Escort.

-Is it?

-That's an Escort. Right.

Basically, you're insured to drive a Ford Fiesta, which is R964.

-This is probably what the problem is.

-So, what happens now?

-Right.

I need to ring your company, and see, how they're going to play it. Right.

Fingers crossed they're open on a Sunday.

Right, they're open at 10.00, 20 minutes' time.

Do you want to stop for a cup of coffee?

So, it's a free coffee morning for the local bobbies,

but it could turn out to be an expensive cuppa for poor Anne.

She is not insured to drive that car.

However, if the error is on the part of the insurance company,

they may honour it and say, "No, we'll say she's insured and amend the paperwork."

If they say it's her fault, they will probably turn round and say

she's not insured. In which case, we'll have to seize the vehicle.

Which could mean 150 quid on top of a £300 fine

and six points on her licence.

The last thing Gareth wants is to take Anne's car.

If they do say you are not insured, you are at home,

what I will say, I'll use my discretion.

If you can get insurance today in front of us with a company

or even with them, just ring them, and change the details over.

I stopped a vehicle this morning showing as having no insurance on it.

She's insured to drive a Ford Fiesta with a very similar

index to the car that she has actually got, which is a Ford Escort.

Would you cover her or not?

Gareth is put on hold, and the waiting continues.

If Anne can't get insurance, losing the car will be a big blow.

Well, I can't walk very far, I get very breathless.

I mean, I've got a walker at the foot of the stairs I could use,

but not on a regular basis.

So, basically, I wouldn't be confined to the house

but it would make things very difficult.

And things get a little bit awkward for local boy Gareth.

Are you related to Graham?

-Yeah.

-Son?

-Yeah.

-God, I've known him for years.

Wyatt, he used to be called, Wyatt Earp.

Hello? That's OK.

Can you swap the details over with immediate effect? Right.

She'll have a chat with you now.

Can you do it for me now on this phone?

Anne can swap her policy which means the car won't be seized,

but there's no let off on the insurance offence.

Unfortunately for you, when we saw you driving, you weren't insured.

No insurance is an absolute offence, basically.

The punishment for that offence is a fixed-penalty ticket now,

which is six points on your driving licence and a £300 fine.

Dear God, I can't afford that.

I really don't enjoy doing this, cos you are not the sort of person

I want to be stopping and issuing a £300 fine to.

-I'll have a word with your dad.

-He'll stop my pocket money.

Here's three copies of the ticket.

Are you happy with what you have to do?

-Yep, yep.

-It's a horrible job, I'm afraid.

It is. I'm glad I'm not too far away so I can sort it out.

In your situation, I'd rather get the car back here.

You're back safe and sound, not stranded at the side of the road.

-And I can use the car.

-Thank you very much, Mrs Williams,

sorry to meet you under these circumstances.

-Oh, no, thank you very much.

-Try and enjoy the rest of the day.

I felt for her, I did feel for her,

cos she had no intent to not have insurance.

She was upset, especially at the fine.

Obviously, she doesn't work any more,

and it's probably hard to find £300.

It was just a genuine mistake.

I would say to anybody, whenever you get your insurance documents back,

check, make sure that your registration number is yours.

From four-wheeled woes in Wales, to car troubles north of the border.

Earlier, Dumfries paramedics Cormac and Karen came to the rescue

of a driver after he suffered a panic attack.

Now, it's the turn of paramedics Michael and Paul.

SIREN WAILS

They are responding to another incident involving a car,

but this one hasn't even left the driveway.

Working a rural patch means the pair

are used to epic cross-country road trips.

This time it's an urgent shout, much closer to home,

just a mile down the road from the ambulance station in Dumfries.

80-year-old Maurice fell

after getting out of his car and has banged his head.

Luckily, passersby were on hand to help and call 999.

Are you sore anywhere else apart from you head, Maurice?

Take care.

Is your back sore?

-Just your head?

-Yeah.

-Did you trip?

-You didn't faint, no?

-No.

Maurice's wife Joyce was getting the washing in from the back garden

when she heard her hubby shouting.

He was told to sit still, but he was coming out of the car

while I went for the washing, and he just went over.

How, I don't know, but he's no' good on his feet.

-Any pain on here?

-No, no.

Michael checks for other injuries.

-Which leg's sore?

-Have you got a sore leg, Maurice?

Your ribs? Sore anywhere?

No.

Sore anywhere?

Just up here, on your ribs? Can we see if we can sit you up?

Straighten your leg a bit.

His legs don't work much anyway.

OK, Maurice, bend yourself up.

How's that?

Dizzy?

You stay on the floor.

Michael's pretty sure there's no broken bones

so helps him up onto the trolley.

See if you can put your foot in the slipper.

It's clear Maurice is still a bit dazed.

There's a small laceration on the top of your head.

It will need stitched and we'll have to glue the laceration on your nose.

Right.

The next step is to work out why he fell.

If he has an underlying illness, it could have caused him to black out.

I'll take your blood pressure. Are you taking any medications?

-Joyce.

-What they for?

I'm just going to shine a wee light in your eyes, OK.

Finally, ever-attentive wife Joyce arrives with her husband's meds.

-Do you want these?

-Pills and potions?

I think he's just got two left to take some time tonight,

-that's there. That's the next day.

-Don't worry, we'll work it out.

-But anyway, it's a blue warfarin at 6.00.

-Okey-doke.

Right, I'm coming up in the car, I'll be up in about ten minutes.

-Eh?

-I'll come up in the car.

Oh, good. You're thinking all right then.

As far as Joyce is concerned, Maurice is back on form.

She leaves him in Michael's capable hands.

And can you remember everything that happened?

I was in the car, I was just getting out.

< Michael?

Yep, cheers.

Just lost your footing?

It looks like there's nothing sinister behind Maurice's fall,

just an unlucky trip for an 80-year-old who's a bit wobbly

on his legs.

-Do you know what day it is today?

-The date?

-No, day, what day of the week is it.

-Aw, it's Sunday.

-That's fine.

It's a speedy five-minute transfer to Dumfries Hospital for Maurice.

Where X-rays should confirm it's a relatively minor injury.

From a minor injury to major medical emergency.

Back in Cornwall, air paramedics Mark and Ben have airlifted

Ted to the hospital at Treliske.

Ted is suffering a massive heart attack and needs an urgent operation

to unblock an artery.

Dr Stephen Evans will be leading Ted's surgery.

This man is having an acute heart attack.

And we used to treat that by giving very powerful drugs

to dissolve clots but nowadays we bring them straight to the

operating room and do a thing called a coronary angiogram -

we look at the arteries supplying the heart

and try and find which one is blocked.

If you don't unblock it within a certain time,

that part of the heart muscle will die.

Ted will be awake and conscious throughout the entire procedure.

First, Stephen injects a dye into his Ted's veins

to see the flow of blood around his heart.

Keeping a close eye on Ted's progress is Dr Helen Roberts.

So, it should continue all the way down here,

but basically it's blocked here with a clot.

Stephen's found the blockage and passes a tube up from an artery

in Ted's leg to suck the clot out.

Basically, they've sucked the clot out using a special catheter

and that's opened up the vessel again,

so there's now flow going to the end of the vessel.

But poor Ted's artery isn't in good shape.

You can see the narrowing in the middle.

The clot's formed and blocked it.

That is critically narrow, so we need to put a stent in there.

Stephen puts a stent in the narrow bit of Ted's artery.

The stent acts like a spring that holds the artery open.

Where that narrowing was there before, it's now flowing through.

With the artery widened, Ted's now getting vital blood

and oxygen to his heart muscle.

Incredibly, he should feel the benefits immediately.

How are you doing, Ted? How does your chest feel?

Better or worse? Better? Good.

Ted will now need close monitoring.

There is still a risk that clots could form around his new stent.

That's the clot we have removed from his right coronary artery

and we've put a stent in its place.

It's notable when you walk round to the ward afterwards the time

that you have taken to do the report, you walk round and they look

completely different.

So, when it goes like this, it's very satisfying.

It looks like the operation has been a success.

Earlier today, Ted collapsed in a car park.

It took less than two hours from the first 999 call

to get him onto the operating table.

And it's been a multi-team effort.

From the Cardiac Care Unit to the paramedics on the ground,

to the Air Ambulance team who played a big part in buying

Ted the time desperately needed to save his life.

It's been all-go for the emergency services in rural Britain.

After his panic attack,

Euan made a full recovery and drove himself home,

thanks to the paramedic's simple solution.

Pensioner Anne's managed to avoid further brushes with the law

and is now enjoying driving around Brecon in her fully-legal motor.

And heart attack victim Ted is recovering well

after three days in hospital.

Next year he plans to sail around Britain raising money for charities,

including Cornwall's Air Ambulance.

And you thought it was quiet in the countryside.