Episode 11 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.

AMBULANCE SIREN BLARES

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.

You're under arrest for failing stop for police.

DOG BARKS

Going hundreds of miles against the clock,

battling the elements

and braving the weather.

Lower the winch.

From fields and forests,

to cliffs and country roads,

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

with police fighting crime...

I've got suspicions that there might be cannabis being used.

..paramedics saving lives...

BABY CRIES

..and wardens safeguarding our lakes.

-Come out of the way.

-INDISTINCT RADIO VOICE

We're there as the emergency services pull together

to pick up, patch up, and protect the public.

This is Countryside 999.

Coming up...

In Worcestershire, a country copper's on a drugs crackdown.

Have you got any cannabis on you?

Search and Rescue scramble to save a casualty in cardiac arrest

on the Isle of Skye.

His heart stopped.

He's required CPR and defibrillation,

so electronic shocks to restart his heart.

AMBULANCE SIREN BLARES

And on the Isle of Man, an elderly woman has had a nasty fall.

Can you wiggle your foot?

Can you move your food backward and forward like that for me?

Well, I...

-Don't do it if it hurts you.

-No, no, no, I can't do it.

In Worcestershire...

Tenbury Wells.

A traditional English market town.

Surrounded by acres of unspoilt farming country.

It's a close-knit community of around 3,000 people.

Responsible for keeping that community safe...

..is West Mercia Police.

PC Nick Prosser is the only bobby based in Tenbury full time.

I love the countryside. I could never leave the countryside,

I love policing here.

I like the camaraderie with the community.

They know who I am, you know, they'll quite often drop by,

knock on the door, just to say hello and have a cup of tea,

and I like that. You don't get that in the city.

But even in peaceful Tenbury...

..there are illegal drugs.

POLICE SIREN BLARES

-BEEPING

-Got some, um, cannabis here.

We'll just carry on a quick search of the vehicle.

Nick has received information about class-A drug use in the area,

so he's planning a special mission.

Going to ask you to be sort of the search teams

when we walk into the pubs.

Tonight, these officers will search local pubs for drugs.

Recently, Friday evenings have seen...

a build-up of younger people coming out into Tenbury,

which is good to see, it's good for local businesses,

brings people into town,

but it's also brought in a couple of the dealers.

Off the back of a number of members of the public giving us

information on drugs use and supply,

we just want to get a message across to the community that

we're taking the information they've given to us seriously

and we're taking the problem of drugs supply and use

seriously here at Tenbury.

We're just doing some walk-throughs of some of the local pubs,

supported by PC Hunting.

And PC Ade Hunting has a secret weapon.

I'm acting as a dog handler.

The dog will...

screen the area round people, essentially,

and if there's sort of a drug scent of interest,

she'll indicate on the person.

And then we will then decide

what to do from there, whether to speak to them and question them

and perhaps conduct a search.

With Nick are three PCs and two special constables.

Just because of the safety aspect

and people being under the influence of alcohol,

we just need to have enough bobbies to be able to make sure

that the searches and the operation is carried out safely...

..and everybody goes home in one piece.

We're en route now, so we're going to be there in less than a minute.

We'll park up. Then we'll...

stick our lids on and walk out into town.

You can already see we're getting plenty of looks at us.

They're not used to seeing this many police cars round here.

Be interesting to see what sort of response we get

when we walk into the local pubs.

Sniffer dog Poppy is prepped for action too.

I'll just put her harness on.

Good girl. Wait there, then.

Sit. Sit.

She is a very good dog, actually.

She's got a very good nose and it's very useful in this sort of work.

If only she could talk

and drive a car.

The officers hit the pubs on Tenbury's main street first.

Go and have a word with them, make sure everything's OK,

and then hopefully reassure the public

that, you know, the police are about

and we take a hard line on drugs.

While some enter through one door...

It's the fuzz!

Come on, then.

..Poppy and PC Hunting take the side entrance.

Come on, then, Pops.

-Hello, sir. How you doing? All right?

-Yeah, not too bad.

-Just walking through the local pubs with the dog.

-Checking for...

Checking for various things, really. The dog will have just a bit of a...

-Bit of a sniff!

-..sniff at people, that's right.

-You having a good evening?

-Yeah, not too bad.

-All right. You take care.

-All right.

-Come on, then.

Nothing out of the ordinary here.

The dog had a walk around a few people.

Not too many in the pub at that moment in time

and no obvious indications.

That was good in a way, that we didn't find anything.

We'll just move on to walk through the next pub now.

But news travels fast.

We did notice a couple of people who were straight on their phone

as soon as we walked out so need to try and get up and down the street

and round the pubs as quickly as we can.

Another pub across the road is a bit busier.

Hello. Good evening. How you doing? All right?

-Try not to stroke the dog.

-Something we do from time to time.

But here, they meet with some resistance.

We're just doing reassurance patrols in Tenbury and in the town

cos people are coming to us saying there's a lot of drug use going on.

Drug use? Are you having a laugh?

We're trying to do something about it and show reassurance. We're just doing our job.

The unspoilt Isle of Man.

100 miles of coastline, crags and sheltered coves.

This island's home to around 85,000 people.

It's a lovely spot to retire to,

with 21% of the island's residents of pension age.

The Isle of Man Ambulance Service is a lifeline for the population,

especially those in their later years.

What we'll do, then, we'll put you on the ambulance

and we'll pop you down to Nobles

to get this pain sorted out for you, all right?

Paramedic Jason Gaunt is based at the Port Erin station

in the south of the island.

I've worked on the Isle of Man Ambulance Service

for approximately seven years now.

I like the variety of it. You never know what you're going to get.

You can go to sort of anything, you know?

You get a call, you never know what you're going to.

Received. Thank you.

An emergency call has come in from a casualty in nearby Port Erin.

Alpha 126. We are mobile.

Today, Jason's working with technician Danielle Sims.

I think it's an 80-something-year-old female

that's fallen in the kitchen, with a possible fractured ankle.

It's only a couple of minutes away. It's not far away.

Alpha 126 on scene.

Hello?

Hello, my love. It's ambulance service.

Where are you? Are you on the floor still?

Hello. I'm Jason. This is Danielle.

-It's standing out.

-Right.

I was over there and I stepped down,

and instead of putting my foot on the slat, I went sideways.

You've gone over on your ankle, have you?

-You see, that's what's happened.

-Right.

Isabel fell in her kitchen and hasn't been able to get up.

Her husband Donald called for help.

Can you wiggle your foot?

Can you move your foot backward and forward like that for me?

-I can't do that.

-You can't do it. Can you not do it at all?

-Well, I...

-Don't do it if it hurts.

-No, no, no. I can't do it.

-Right.

Can't always tell if they're fractured so we'll pop it

in a little splint, a little box splint, all right?

We'll pop you up the hospital, get them have a look.

They might need to X-ray it.

Jason's concerned it may be fractured.

It was a little bit swollen, the ankle was.

A little bit bruised on the inside.

That's where she was complaining of the pain.

Just going to pop this little splint round it

and if you have fractured it, it'll give it a little bit of support.

Just used the simple box splint on the lady.

They're easy to apply.

They're normally quite safe to put on and everything.

You stay where you are. We're going to bring a little chair in

and we're going to try and get you on the chair

and you try and push up. After three. One, two, three.

That's it. All your weight on your good leg.

And then swing your bum round and we'll get you in that little chair.

That's it.

Now with your good leg, push yourself back.

Let me guide your feet where they're to go.

That's it.

Just keep that arm nice and still.

We're just going to do your blood pressure.

So is your pain quite tolerable?

Are you able to cope with your pain or do you want any pain relief?

-No, no.

-It's comfortable, is it?

-It is comfortable.

With Isabel refusing pain relief, they set off for Nobles Hospital.

It's 15 miles of winding roads to Douglas,

the island's largest town.

While he monitors Isabel's condition,

Jason keeps her chatting.

What did you used to do for a living, then? In your younger days?

Did you work or anything?

On a farm!

Something in common, then. I used to work on a farm, years ago.

It is nice to talk to patients. You find so much about them, really.

Their life story, where they've worked and what they've done,

about their families, so it's always a pleasure meeting these people.

You do pick up so many lovely stories.

In 30 minutes, they arrive.

And you, my love. It's been very nice.

All right, love. I'm coming in with you, don't worry. I'm not going yet.

You can't get rid of me that easy.

After three. One, two, three.

There you go, my love. How's that? It's nice to have met you.

-It was nice.

-Fingers crossed you've not broken it.

All right? You stay safe.

All right, love.

-So it's the left foot here, yes?

-That's the one.

That's the one.

Try to keep as still as you possibly can, my dear. I know it's sore.

Fantastic. That's the first one done.

Radiographer Gerard takes multiple x-rays of Isabel's ankle

to see if it's fractured.

Well done.

She remembers a time when the island's hospitals

weren't so hi-tech.

I remember going to the old Nobles Hospital

and wasn't like going here now.

It was sort of small and all this is big now.

When we were kids, if you'd fallen,

you just couldn't go and tell your mother you'd done it

because she wouldn't listen to you.

She'd say, "Well, it's your own fault, you see?"

That's the way we were brought up.

Isabel, it seems, has inherited that no-nonsense attitude.

The verdict's in and it's no minor injury.

I'm afraid I've got bad news for you.

It looks like you've fractured your ankle in two different places.

Well, I thought as much when it happened, that it was broken,

so it's nothing really new to me.

It's slightly displaced.

I mean, it's out of place

so what I'm going to do is to speak to the orthopaedic doctors

to have a look at the X-ray

and tell me what should be the management plan, OK?

Thank you.

Thank you.

With any luck, it will require just a simple cast.

He said that I could sleep here tonight.

So it'll get all sorted out now.

As I say, I'm in the right place anyway.

It's the way I look at it.

No, I think I'm in the safest place.

In the Worcestershire town of Tenbury...

..the officers of West Mercia police

are conducting an anti-drugs operation

with the help of sniffer dog Poppy.

They've just arrived at the second pub of the evening.

We're just doing reassurance patrols in Tenbury

because people are coming to us saying

there's a lot of drug use going on and a lot of supply.

Drug use! Are you having a laugh?

We're just trying to do something about it. Just doing our job.

Some of the customers fear their local's being targeted.

PC Nick Prosser reassures them.

-OK. We're just doing our job.

-OK. I beg your pardon.

-All right. No probs.

-OK, I'm sorry.

-No probs.

Poppy's given the all clear on the drugs front.

What we're going to do is we're going to go back to the car

and just add another pub on the list. One at the top of the town.

We got a little bit of hostility in the one pub

but our main purpose, if you like, is to reassure people

that we're about and that's exactly what we've done tonight.

Their next pub is up town.

It's where, on Saturday nights, you get all the partygoers.

It's a little lively.

We'll crack on. We'll see what we've got.

Poppy and dog handler PC Ade Hunting do a sweep.

And it's not long before Poppy takes an interest in someone.

Just searching around the local pubs, OK?

The dog's indicated on you

that she's quite interested in smells around your...

Have you got anything on you?

Have you been around any controlled drugs?

Little bit of weed.

I'm PC Nick Prosser, all right, from Tenbury police station, all right?

I'm detaining you at the moment

under Section 23 Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.

The reasons for that is because a passive drugs dog has indicated

by the side of you that they're very interested in your pocket, OK?

For those reasons, you're just detained,

just the purposes of the search, OK?

We'll take you somewhere a little bit more private

and we'll just have a chat about what you've disclosed to us

-is in your pocket. Is that all right?

-Yeah, that's fine.

The man's admitted to carrying a small amount of cannabis.

The dog walked past a gentleman sat at the bar

and basically did a double take, went back and checked

and she was quite positive in what she was trying to tell me,

so we had a chat with the gentleman,

he disclosed he had some controlled drugs on him

and Nick's just talking to him now.

Listen, we've got a job to do, all right? I'm not judging you.

I appreciate your honesty. Thanks very much for that.

I just rewarded the dog there

because I saw that Nick had got some drugs there

so I was able to reward her

so that she knows she's done a good job, basically.

In this case, I've given her her ball.

You happy to come down to the station next week

and we'll just have a quick chat about that?

No, that's cool. We can do that. That's not an issue.

Just seized a very small amount of cannabis.

It's properly only £5-6 worth.

There's not a great deal, but it's a positive.

It shows she knows what she's doing.

It is a good result and we'll seize that and interview him next week.

We've got his details now.

It's just sending out a great message.

We've obviously got a positive.

So it's a good result.

They haven't found any class-A drugs,

but the operation sent out an important message.

It's only a small amount,

but at least everybody in Tenbury's going to know

we've been around with the drugs dog

and that we've seized a little bit of cannabis -

it'll soon be round the town.

It'll probably go a little quiet, I would suggest, the next few weeks,

possibly leading up to Christmas.

From Scotland's highest peaks...

..to Northern Ireland...

..and the Lake District.

Every day, HMS Gannet scrambles its Search and Rescue helicopters

in order to save lives in some of Britain's most remote locations.

Today, a call's come in.

The crew must transport a critically ill patient to Glasgow.

The driver of a coach tour visiting the island

has had a cardiac arrest behind the wheel,

with 40 tourists on board.

Flying today are pilots James Bullock and NV Hammond...

..winchman paramedic Taff Ashman and observer Richie Lightfoot.

From their base in Prestwick,

they're flying 130 miles to Broadford on the Isle of Skye.

But first, they have to pick up

a specialist emergency medical retrieval team from Glasgow.

The retrieval team includes consultant doctor Neil McMahon,

who'll supervise the casualty's transfer.

His heart stopped.

He's required CPR and defibrillation,

so electric shocks to restart his heart.

And he's now... His heart is beating and he is breathing,

but he's deeply unconscious as a result of that cardiac arrest,

so he needs his airway secured

and he needs transferred to a specialist cardiology centre,

which will be the Golden Jubilee Hospital in Clydebank.

And our job is to get him there

in the best physiological state possible.

Bear right.

-You are now...feet wet.

-Roger.

With only 25 beds, the hospital on the Isle of Skye

has limited resources for specialist cardiac treatment.

Relatively common, obviously, cardiac arrest.

There's at least one in the west of Scotland every day.

And, obviously, if that happens close to a metropolitan hospital,

a city centre - Glasgow, for example -

then you'll be treated by local staff and paramedics

first of all, and then the hospital staff.

But because remote and rural places don't have intensive care units

and easy access to cardiac catheterisation labs, etc,

then, actually, transport for them becomes...

a transfer becomes more of a challenge and more important.

The crew sets course for Skye.

There's concern about the weather.

But this being Scotland, it can change in an instant.

Pilots Bullock and Hammond

familiarise themselves with the landmarks.

An hour after leaving Glasgow,

Gannet lands near the hospital on Skye.

Over two and a half hours ago,

66-year-old Terence's heart had stopped beating entirely.

To keep this guy stable during the flight,

he's effectively going to be put in an induced coma.

So he's being kept unconscious and he's on a ventilator,

so the machine is breathing for him.

And he's obviously going to be wired up to a defib monitor throughout.

Terence's condition is life-threatening.

They need to get him to the chopper now.

In Worcestershire...

..PC Nick Prosser of West Mercia Police

is back on his beat in the town of Tenbury.

Nick believes there's been a recent increase

in illegal drug use in town, and he's cracking down on it.

Seized a very small amount of cannabis.

It's probably only £5, £6 worth there.

There's not a great deal, but it's a positive, it is a good result,

and we'll seize that and interview him next week.

We'll get his details now.

It's nearly 11pm.

Thursday night in this rural market town.

Things look quiet.

Until Nick spies something suspicious.

Oh, he HAS shot off.

It's just a small little motorbike that's left an address

where we believe that cannabis might be being sold from,

so we're just going to have a...

a chat with this guy in a minute, pull him over.

We followed the motorbike, did a check on the registration,

and it came back to an individual

who I had my suspicions about that might be using cannabis.

He indicates to the rider to pull over.

Fella, do you want to pull over on the petrol station?

Pull over on the petrol station.

Thank you, 1189 to move and check, Teme Street, Tenbury.

-I do know your mate that you've just been to.

-Yeah.

-OK?

And the reason why I'm stopping you, I've got suspicions

that there might be cannabis being used at that address.

-OK, and you've just come from there, haven't you?

-Yeah.

-OK.

So for that reason, at the moment,

you're detained under Section 23 of the Misuse of Drugs Act, all right?

-So for the purposes of a search, do you understand that?

-Yeah.

What you need to know is who I am, all right?

I'm PC 1189, Nick Prosser.

I'm attached to Tenbury Police Station,

one of the local bobbies here.

-Yeah.

-All right?

Are you happy with why I'm detaining you at the moment?

You've just come from an address

where I believe drugs are being used from.

-Yeah, that's fine.

-Have you got any cannabis on you?

-I do, yeah.

-You have got some on you? OK.

-How much have you got on you?

-Just one...

-Just a gram?

-Yeah... Well, not even that.

-OK.

-Take your helmet off for me, buddy, please.

-Yeah.

Is it on you, or is it on or in the bike somewhere?

-No, it's in my pocket... It's in my pocket, mate.

-OK.

How much is there? Ten quid's worth? Is it just a gram, is it?

Not even that, mate. It's just the tiniest bit.

Nick seizes the cannabis....

..and searches for more.

-Appreciate you being honest with me.

-That's OK, mate.

-All right?

-I knew you were going to stop me, anyway.

-How did you know that?

-Cos I just heard.

-You heard?

I heard that... Yeah, that you were stopping people.

News has been getting around town about Nick's recent drugs crackdown.

Certainly, he'd obviously heard of me

and that we were stopping people for drugs round here,

which we do a lot of.

We try to stay on top of it,

cos we do have a problem with it round here, in particular cannabis.

So it sends a clear message out.

But we'll deal with him in the back of the car now,

and then we'll take it from there.

You need to be aware, mate,

I'm blitzing this town on drugs at the moment,

and I will deal with everybody that's using drugs in this town.

All right?

You've heard that we've been stopping people for a good reason.

Have you smoked some dope tonight? Cos your eyes do look pretty big.

The suspect was driving his motorbike,

so there could be another charge.

He's admitted that he's smoked a small amount of cannabis,

and he's been riding on his bike,

so he could be unfit through drink or drugs.

OK, fella.

At the moment, as of 11.10,

you are under arrest on suspicion of possession of cannabis,

and also suspicion of riding your motorbike while being unfit.

-OK, do you understand that?

-Yeah.

-You do not have to say anything.

It may harm your defence if you do not mention now something which you later rely on in court.

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

Driving under the influence of cannabis is a more serious offence

than possessing a small amount of the drug.

The suspect could have posed a danger to himself

and other road users.

Right now, Nick must take him over 20 miles

to Hereford Police Station for testing.

You've got about...

probably about a 25-minute drive to Hereford custody now,

where there'll be a... a road policing unit waiting

so they can carry out the appropriate test.

Try and find out how much cannabis is in his system.

We'll deal with that offence at custody,

and possession of the cannabis.

PC Leon Symms tests him for cannabis use.

OK.

Test is positive for cannabis,

so it'll be a doctor to come out and take a blood sample.

Like drunk driving, driving while unfit due to cannabis use

is only prosecuted

if a certain level of the drug is found in the blood.

So next is a blood test.

I've had plenty of drink drivers, but not drug drivers,

so, yeah, it's the first one in the bin for me.

The Chief Constable's tasked us

with trying to reduce deaths on the road.

Obviously, cannabis has been found in his saliva

so, yeah, it's a good result,

and the roads are slightly safer tonight in Tenbury.

In Scotland, on the Isle of Skye...

..the crew of Royal Navy Search and Rescue unit HMS Gannet

have rushed to a man who suffered a sudden heart attack

while driving a coach full of tourists.

At Dr MacKinnon Memorial Hospital in the town of Broadford,

Gannet paramedic Taff Ashman is about to help transfer the casualty.

66-year-old Terence.

The guy was a bus driver that was up taking a sort of tour group.

He's taken unwell, I believe at the wheel of the bus,

so when they've got him out of the bus,

he's gone into cardiac arrest.

There just so happened to be a medic who was passing.

-Thank you.

-See you later.

At the roadside, Terence's heart stopped beating.

Incredibly, local ambulance technician Hamish Robertson

was driving past

and stopped in his patient transport vehicle.

There was a man lying on the side of the road,

on his side, not breathing.

His colour was blue.

There was people round about him trying to help him.

I then got my kit from the vehicle, cleared his airway,

applied a defibrillator to him and gave him five shocks.

And, eventually, he started breathing again

and his heart started working.

His heart restarted, but still unconscious and in a critical state,

Terence was transferred by ambulance to the hospital here on Skye.

He's been brought into A & E on the island

and we're now going to package him up

and take him back down to intensive care in Glasgow.

Terence needs specialist cardiac treatment urgently.

We'll bring the stretcher out, go down to the cab,

load into the aircraft, and then fly back down to Glasgow.

He's been driving tourist coaches for 22 years...

..and was planning to retire next year.

If everybody's happy...

Ready, steady, lift.

With Terence safely in the chopper, it takes off.

They're heading for Golden Jubilee Hospital,

a specialist cardiac unit in Clydebank, near Glasgow.

By the winding roads of the Western Highlands,

this journey would take at least four hours.

But Gannet can fly it in under 60 minutes.

Paramedic Taff and the emergency doctors keep a watchful eye.

The medics have sedated Terence.

It's a tricky balance,

ensuring the precise amount of anaesthetic propofol is given.

Consultant doctor Neil McMahon is treating him.

But the weather's not on their side.

They've flown into an area of low cloud and rain.

Pilots Bullock and Hammond have to navigate carefully.

RADIO TRANSMISSION CONTINUES

Great.

They reach Golden Jubilee Hospital.

40.

20.

Here, Terence will be treated by specialists in cardiac care.

Four months later...

..Terence is back home in the town of Ulverston, Cumbria,

with his wife, Christine.

"You'll be up and out and good as new before a whole lot longer."

And that's from all the people that were on the coach

when you had your heart attack.

Yeah.

I don't remember anything for two weeks prior to the day.

It's all blank.

And three weeks after it.

But Christine remembers the day her husband almost died all too well.

As HMS Gannet Search and Rescue were racing to Skye,

Christine was at work near their home when the phone rang.

Got a phone call from a nurse,

asking me if I was on my own, or, "Sit down,"

and that my husband had had a heart attack

and he was very seriously ill.

I was more worried on the way up there

as to if he HAD crashed his coach,

was anybody else on board his coach involved and injured?

Terence had no history of heart problems.

Fortunately, when he began to feel ill, he was able to stop the coach.

He'd pulled it over to the side of the road...

in time.

His family rushed to the hospital in Glasgow.

When we got to the hospital,

we were taken into a room, what they call the family room.

You expect it to be bad news,

but when they came in and said that he was still alive,

he was very, very seriously ill,

the fact that he was still alive was a weight off our shoulders.

They said they'd put him into a coma

because it was a way for his heart to recover.

As he started coming out of the coma,

he was getting very confused.

He thought he was still at work.

Kept going on about his coach.

Since then, Terence has made an amazingly speedy recovery.

He went to see his specialist the other day,

and his specialist was absolutely over the moon with him.

So he is really doing well.

He should be, I reckon, definitely 99%.

But at the age of 66, it's now time to take it easy.

I can't drive now, so that's me retired now.

Relax, do my garden.

Wants a dog so that he can take it out for walks,

so that'll give us something to look forward to.

If he writes his letter to Father Christmas, he might get one!

It's been all go for the emergency services across the British Isles.

In Tenbury, the cannabis-carrying suspect

sniffed out by drugs dog Poppy

was given a cannabis warning and won't end up with a conviction.

The motorbike rider's blood test

revealed he was over the legal limit for cannabis use while driving.

He was given a caution for possession of the drug,

a 14-month driving ban, a fine and court costs.

On the Isle of Man,

Isabel's fractured ankle was set in a cast.

She spent a couple of weeks in hospital

before getting back home with husband Donald.

And you thought it was quiet in the countryside(!)