Episode 6 Emergency Rescue Down Under

They're the Brits who race to the rescue down under.

SIREN WAILS

-OVER RADIO:

-'Multiple patients critical.'

Everyday heroes saving lives.

Five miles to run.

-Battling fires...

-Do not go out now, it's too late!

-It can be extremely dangerous.

-..and fighting crime...

-OVERLAPPING VOICES

-Calm down!

Police, open the door!

From the big city...to the outback.

Our policing district is bigger than the whole of the UK.

From the bush...

'He's been crushed between one of those Dingo diggers and a ute.'

..to Bondi Beach.

-NEWSREADER:

-The search continues for a British tourist

who hasn't been seen since he went for a swim.

You never quite know what you are in for or what is going to happen.

'332, mate.'

Very high impact. He is really quite critically injured.

Brits on blue lights under blue skies.

Today down under,

flying doctor Tom races to the rescue of a badly injured cyclist.

He has got a penetrating injury to the right side of his abdomen.

-Just be honest...

-Yeah?

-..have I done anything to me back?

British policeman Rob confronts the deadly drug sweeping Australia.

Is there any drugs in the car?

-Uh, no.

-No?

-Is it yours?

-No comment.

And fledgling flying doctor Ian is scrambled

to a car crash in the bush.

I will have a quick look at you myself, OK?

And then we will come up with a plan as to where to take you, all right?

100 miles north of Sydney is the seaside city of Newcastle.

Dr Tom Wallis worked in Newcastle upon Tyne. Now, he is based here,

taking his turn as a flying doctor on the local rescue chopper crew.

-OVER RADIO:

-'Ambulance emergency, what town or suburb?'

'24-year-old male, fallen from a mountain bike.

'He is complaining of severe hip pain...

'apparently off his hip, but he can't move.

'And he's got the head injury.'

Just past Aberdeen. I think we will want a little extra fuel.

A young lad has fallen off a mountain bike

up near Muswellbrook.

Apparently he has sustained a head injury and an injury to

one of his hips. So the guys on the phone were wondering

whether he has got a pelvis injury or not.

That is probably the most serious thing.

'Control, Westpac 1.'

'Thanks, good morning. We're on channel,

'just departed Newcastle base with five POB.

'If you have any clinical information on the Dartbrook case,

'that would be appreciated.'

'Copy that, Westpac 1,

'the one at Dartbrook is a 24-year-old male, push-bike rider.

'Come off downhill at 40km, wearing a helmet.

'He's got pelvic pain and right hip pain,

'and a small puncture wound to the right flank.'

The rain is working against them, delaying their arrival.

It would have been a bit nicer inland.

Yeah, from what I heard, it is all very coastal-orientated.

Which is obvious.

A local paramedic is bringing the cyclist to the landing pad.

So we are just landing here rather than at the scene,

because it is easier for the pilot to get down here.

And safer. And then the ambulance is

going to bring the patient here to us.

They have already initiated the beginning of treatment,

the primary stuff, and then we will just have a quick look over,

make sure there is nothing else we need to do before we leave.

Part of it really is getting

into hospital as quickly as you can, but as safely as you can.

It's quite a fair distance from here to the hospital,

obviously different from the UK.

Tom. Nice to meet you, mate.

Joel Stanford is 23 years old.

He had ridden 50 miles before crashing off his bike.

This is Joel.

-Hello, mate.

-Joel's from Newcastle,

he was out riding his mountain bike with a couple of mates today.

He has come down a bit of an incline in the road,

a bit of a jump, and he has gone over and come off the bike.

-They are unsure fully how he has done it...

-JOEL:

-I can't remember.

He has got a puncture wound here to his right side.

He had initially said he had a bit of pain in the pelvic area,

it seems to have resolved, it is more

just this area of the right side, where the puncture wound is.

Initially, again, also had pain in his legs -

good movement, no problems at all. Good sensation.

We have pelvic splinted him, just for safety purposes,

-we think...

-Have I got a puncture wound?

-It's about three centimetres long.

-It's sore.

-Sorry, mate.

Repetitive questioning quite often,

-you will find the same questions coming over and over again.

-Yeah.

Mainly about ambulance cover.

The patient's repeated questioning is a cause for concern.

It could be a sign of a serious head injury.

We think he may have had a stick or something

go into his side, a bit of penetrating trauma to his side,

a bit of memory loss as well,

and asking a lot of questions about the events.

-Where's me mates?

-All right, buddy.

Joel is concerned he may have seriously damaged his spine.

-Cos we are going to take you in a chopper.

-Don't scare me like that.

What's wrong with the chopper? It's a ride, mate, it's all right.

Just going to have a quick look at you, OK, buddy?

All right, it's just going to feel a bit cold on your chest, buddy.

-Just be honest.

-Yeah?

-Have I done anything to me back?

-Don't think so.

He is also worried about the cost of his rescue.

He has health insurance, but he fears he may not be covered.

Yeah, I think it's fine, fella.

In Australia we pay for ambulance cover through our medical funds,

so basically, any time the ambulance is called to them,

the health fund covers the cost of the ambulance trip.

I don't know, mate, but it doesn't matter.

The rescue chopper is free, but Joel can't stop worrying.

Patients can sometimes get quite worried about that, because

it can be quite costly with an ambulance, let alone a helicopter.

Obviously it is quite a concern to the patients as to whether

they are going to have to stump up a lot of cash after over this.

They are already stressed enough as it is.

There's no sign of internal injuries,

despite the gash in Joel's side.

Is my ambo cover up to date?

You don't need ambo cover for our helicopter.

-You've got ambo cover.

-We're generous like that.

It's just for the ambulance you need it, not for us.

He's got a young family that is concerned about cost,

but he has got cover, it's been confirmed, so...

He'll be fine, but just at the moment,

it's in the back of his head.

It's looking pretty good at the moment,

all your vital signs are looking good.

But Dr Tom's focus is his head injury.

-Have I broken me hip?

-No, don't think so, mate.

Joel is still not making much sense.

If he has a bleed on the brain, his life is in danger.

They need to get him to hospital in Newcastle 80 miles away - quickly.

And they're running out of time.

25, 26...

His concern about the bill could be another sign of a brain injury.

'Westpac 1 has departed Muswellbrook Hospital for John Hunter.

'Estimating John Hunter at 13.35.

'One-three-three-five.'

RINGING TONE

Hi, this is Tom, doctor aboard Westpac 1.

Tom is briefing his colleagues at the Newcastle trauma unit,

where he works when he is not flying.

Good to go, boys.

X-rays and scans await Joel in hospital.

They reveal that, aside from minor concussion, he has been very lucky.

His wound is stitched up and he soon returns home with severe bruising.

His insurance covered his treatment.

It's the evening rush hour in Perth in Western Australia.

-CAR HORNS HONK

-'96 FM - Traffic.'

'The techies have been doing a great job through Balcatta,

'just the one set of lights out there now,

'and we're really incident-free.

'9221 1396, if you see a drama, let us know.'

But as the commuters head home,

another shift is just beginning for the officers

of Clarkson Police Station in the city's northern suburbs.

We've got six on our shift, and I think all but one are British.

Here in the state they call WA, the law is enforced

by policeman like Rob Rixson, originally from London.

Can you just wait up there on the pavement for us?

Rob is a veteran of the Met.

His partner, Colin Todd, was in the Royal Navy.

You can see the blood that has been left behind.

-A shift full of Englishmen.

-And a Scottish man.

ROB LAUGHS

The area they police is Australia's Little Britain.

In some streets, half the residents are expats, many from the UK.

And some of them have been affected by the rising use

of crystal methamphetamine.

A drug that can have a devastating effect.

The prices are coming down and there is just more of it

coming in by the day.

Unfortunately, we just can't keep up

and can't keep it off the streets.

Tonight, Rob and Colin are monitoring

the home of a suspect they know well.

KNOCK ON WINDOW

-Looks the same, eh?

-No, these curtains were down, were they not?

-No.

-Yesterday, but tonight they were...

KNOCKING ON WINDOW CONTINUES

The owner is under a court-imposed curfew,

but for the second night running, no-one is answering the door.

He should be here, seven o'clock.

He is on a curfew at the moment, so he needs

to be at home between 7pm and 7am.

But, erm, he's either not in or he's not answering the door.

He has been building a wall today, this wall was not here yesterday.

-Has he got a plumb line in there?

-Yeah.

Look how straight it is.

God, you'd think he'd get a job easy as a bricklayer, eh?

Their only choice is to come back later.

POLICE RADIO CHATTER

It's a few hours later,

and the hunt for drug dealers and users continues.

A parked car has caught their attention.

-How are you, mate?

-All right.

-What's happening?

-Not much.

-Just having a cigarette.

-Just keep your hands where I can see them.

-WOMAN:

-Oh, sorry.

-That's all right.

-Mate, is there any drugs in the car?

-Uh, no.

-No?

-Are you a drug user?

-I used to, not any more.

Do you have anything on you you shouldn't have?

No, I don't have anything.

Just go round that side, mate, she's opened the door,

don't know if she's dumped something out the car.

-I think she was going to try and ditch it out the car.

-Yeah.

Inside the car is a glass pipe. The kind used to smoke crystal meth.

-Mate, I'm going to give you a search.

-Yep.

-A drug search, OK?

Just hop out the car for me.

Just keep your hands out of your pockets for a second,

just put them on there for me. Do you have anything sharp on you?

-No, I don't, no.

-I have to tell you,

obviously if you obstruct the search, you commit a offence.

-WOMAN:

-But I do...

-Have you ever been in trouble with the police?

-No, just drink-driving.

OK, just traffic stuff.

The driver is in the clear, but his female passenger is in trouble.

-Is it yours?

-No comment.

You can... Being honest is the best way. Being honest is a lot simpler.

Yeah.

There is nothing to be scared of.

I'm going to summons you for possession of drug paraphernalia.

For containing methamphetamines, OK?

She won't be arrested, but she will get a court summons.

And you will receive some paperwork in the mail.

OK. Thank you. Thanks for that, guys.

Good night.

For Rob and Colin,

this type of incident is becoming a regular occurrence.

We could go out every day on shift, and you could pretty much come back,

if you wanted to, with a glass smoking pipe.

This is probably the most common charge that

certainly I do at Clarkson Station,

possession of drug paraphernalia or possession of drugs, namely meth.

Because it is highly addictive and it is easily accessible,

it is really prevalent in WA.

And it is only getting more so as time goes on.

I don't think she has really had much dealings with the police,

so I don't think she is that sure what to do,

so having watched a bit of CSI,

she has decided to go "no comment" when she is asked questions.

Which is fine, that's her legal right.

INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER

Officers Rob and Colin have decided to head back

to the home of the man on curfew.

See someone looking out the window?

KNOCKING ON WINDOW

KNOCKING ON DOOR

But there is apparently still no-one in at his house.

-The dog is there.

-TV's on.

Yeah. Dog's in.

DOG BARKS

It appears there's still no-one at home.

The trouble is, the police have no power to enter the man's house,

and even if he IS inside, it is his right not to answer the door.

If the court had given his conditions properly then we could

lock him up, like a proper court, but unfortunately, sometimes they...

They put a condition for him to observe a curfew,

but they don't put a condition that he has to present to us.

Which then means, if you don't have to present,

he can say he is in the house sleeping in the back room.

He can argue that he is complying with his conditions.

The night shift is almost over.

-But there is always tomorrow.

-Knock-off time, mate.

Spot-on.

'WSFM 101.7, hello there, it is Jonesy and Amanda.

'A nice-looking morning,

'mostly sunny today, 25 degrees in the city,

'30 in the west. It's 20 past eight.'

Every year, the Aussie health service

recruits hundreds of British doctors.

And this year's helicopter unit newbies have just arrived.

First stop - medical boot camp.

We're going to need to bag valve mask her

cos she is gasping. Hello, can you hear me, ma'am?

We've got another critical patient in the car.

We have given them a hard week this week.

Some of them have only been here for a couple of days before

they come into our induction programme, and from day one,

we are hitting them with the hard stuff.

There are really long, really busy days,

very confronting days.

Helmet's on the wrong way round.

I thought it felt a bit funny.

LAUGHTER

Dr Sarah Coombes grew up in York, trained in London

and is now one of Sydney's top trauma consultants.

But today, she is pretending to be a stressed-out country doctor

dealing with a very sick patient.

This is exactly what happened the last time the HEMS team came,

they came and they slowed down

time-critical intervention for the patient.

I didn't ask you to come here, so if you will go

and stand over there, I'm going to manage this patient.

'I have to psych myself up to be the doctor from hell.'

OK, tube is in.

It's tough to do, because they actually did all the right things.

And yet, we want them to know that sometimes that is going to fail.

Will you please not interrupt my handover?

This is a stressful situation, the patient's safety

-has to come first.

-Well, it wasn't stressful

until you arrived, young man.

'We have actually based that scenario on an amalgamation'

of three or four similar episodes we have come across.

It can be quite confronting for people to arrive unannounced

and want to take over your patient.

OK, guys, sorry, I'm going to interrupt there.

I'm going to be very rude here,

but we don't think you are tubed in, you have no CO2 ready,

So we are going to have to get you out of the way

so we can rescue this airway, please.

So what would you like me to do, young man?

To move out of the way and let the doctor in, please.

This is my patient, so what would you like me to do?

If you don't move now, this patient is going to die.

'They are life skills, they are not just health skills,

'they are certainly not Australia-only skills,'

they are going to take them back home, they are going

to use them in their home life,

in their work life, across all boundaries.

These are really useful skills for them to have.

At the Wollongong air ambulance base south of Sydney, Dr Ian Scott

from Aberdeen is about to put his new skills into practice.

It's two cars, one rolled over.

One occupant is trapped, but seems stable at this stage.

The accident is on a major road 100 miles south of Sydney.

First report is that someone is trapped with pelvic injuries.

The second car has a family in it,

but I don't have a report on their condition as yet.

So we'll get going and see.

There are some cars on scene hopefully doing some

preparatory work for us, and we will have a report once we get airborne.

RADIO CHATTER

INDISTINCT

Good afternoon, we have departed Woolongong base

en route to the MVA at Jaspers Brush.

I believe supervisor 102 is on scene.

Ground paramedics want Dr Ian to examine one of the patients.

Copy that, just landing adjacent to the accident,

in a green grass area just off a dirt road.

Despite his years of NHS experience, Ian will be relying on

veteran helicopter paramedic Monty for advice.

Patient's stable, so I'm not going to worry about getting any gear out

until we've shut down - we'll have enough time for

that two-minute shutdown period.

Can you see where the flare's going off,

can you see further up the hill, the H?

Monty, with you as well, mate, is it not just landing there?

I reckon just go for the H cos you're well clear of

the power lines over there.

It's a stable patient

and we've got a nice defined helipad on the hill, you happy with that?

Yeah, I'm happy with that.

Doors back and locked.

The only concern we've got though, just before you do, Monty,

we do have horses right next to that H, and obviously people near there.

And people as well, yeah.

The chopper crew are responsible for getting the flying doctors

to their patients, then it will be time for Ian to take over.

OK, dusters down, the wheels at my door, your door,

with 30 to run...ten to run.

Forward, mate. With five to run.

Three, two, one - stand by, and steady.

The most seriously injured patient is already

in the ambulance, waiting for Ian's help.

-Hey, guys.

-Hi there. Ian. Nice to meet you.

I'm Dave. You too, Ian. This is Brian.

Brian is 56 years of age.

He was actually the driver of that Mercedes convertible.

-When we arrived, that was on its side.

-Yep.

He was trapped by his seat belt.

No recollection of the events pretty much,

little bit confused about time and place.

With wreckage like this, the crash could easily have been fatal.

-Hi there, Brian.

-Hi.

-My name's Ian.

I'm one of the doctors with the helicopter, OK?

I just had a wee update.

I will have a quick look at you myself,

and then we will come up with a plan as to where to take you, all right?

Brian, do you remember what day of the week it is?

-Monday.

-And do you know what month it is at the moment?

-Not really.

You're not sure what month it is. What year is it, do you know?

Ian is trying to rule out a head injury.

They are common in rollover crashes.

Just open your eyes for me, nice and wide. Good, good.

Going to look in your ears, OK? Can you open your mouth for me?

Good, good. I'm going to have a feel of your chest, all right?

-Not sore at all, round here?

INDISTINCT

-Hello, how are you?

-I'm his wife.

-OK.

I just wanted to say goodbye because I can't go in the helicopter.

That's right, but once he gets...

My doctor is just having a quick look at him in here,

he's nice and stable, but stay here.

The driver doesn't seem too badly hurt,

but he will need X-rays to rule out internal injuries.

Good man, OK. You're doing fine, all right?

You've had a bit of a bang to your head,

and we are just concerned about maybe around your pelvis.

So we are going to get you loaded into the helicopter,

and we'll take you to St George's, OK?

That is a precautionary thing really,

just because of the speed involved in the accident and everything.

Dr Ian's first reaction is to fly his patient, but all

chopper flights involve a minor risk, and there is an alternative.

Can't find anything. Primary survey, airway is fine, breathing is fine.

What I'm just thinking...

The only thing is, yes, does he need to go to...?

Does he need to go to a...?

-Yeah, Wollongong is a big hospital, isn't it?

-Yeah, it's a royal trauma.

That would be fine.

Look, I'm quite happy.

-If it is just that, and all his obs have been fine.

-I agree.

He will go by road to a local hospital.

The driver's wife has arrived and needs reassurance.

It's a good job she wasn't with him.

Yeah, we are happy there is nothing major to send him to Sydney for.

Wollongong Hospital has got all the imaging facilities

like CT and orthopaedics.

He doesn't need to go to a major trauma centre,

he is going to a regional trauma hospital by road ambulance.

We are going to go back to base, because after assessing him,

he hasn't got any injuries that require

any interventions from us or to go to a major trauma centre.

He has been very lucky there was no passenger in the car,

if you see the damage to the sports car, he would have...

probably been killed if someone had been in there.

He was quite stable, looking at all the observations they had done

since the accident, they had all been stable.

The accident was very severe,

in the sense that they had significant damage to the car

he was in, but very luckily,

the driver's compartment was really undamaged.

For Dr Ian, it is time to return to the base.

Like most of the British flying doctors,

one day he will take his Australian training back to the NHS.

But for now, down under is home.

That stuff is really useful.

So whether it is Australia or the UK,

emergency theatres, at the roadside -

all those techniques will stand them in great stead.

Back in the suburbs of Perth, British police officers

Colin and Rob, and their colleague Darren Lumb, are back on duty.

-And they've just spotted a familiar face.

-Whoa!

It is the suspect on curfew who they spend several nights

trying to contact at his apparently deserted home.

SIREN WAILS

Stand there, mate.

The suspect is travelling with his girlfriend.

They are going to search the car.

And it is not long before they find something suspicious.

-Just tell me what that is.

-Um...

-That's speed, methamphetamine?

-I actually don't know what it is.

Nice. That a hobby of yours?

This suspect shouldn't be driving. His licence is suspended.

At the moment, you are under arrest for driving with no licence.

I know you were caught suspended, you know you were caught suspended,

so you are going to have to come with us to the police station, OK?

There is also a CCTV system on the back seat.

Whose camera system is it, mate?

And more evidence of crystal meth use.

-Just tell me what that is.

-Uh, that looks like a glass pipe.

-OK. Tell me about that.

-A glass pipe, hasn't got anything in there.

It's been used for something, what has it been used for?

-I actually don't know what is in there.

-OK, why do you have it?

Mate, she's got a pipe in her bag in the car,

-is there anything else in there?

-Not that I know of.

The suspect's dog can't choose his owner,

and Rob is happy to keep him amused as the search continues.

I don't mind the dog. We have met a few times,

he is a pretty good dog.

Moving 10,000 miles to Australia means adapting

to a different kind of crime.

Different drugs here to the UK.

I worked in south London,

so the main drug I would see was crack cocaine.

Obviously on the other end of the scale, cannabis,

which is pretty prevalent here as well.

But here, predominantly, people use methamphetamine, which is,

in my opinion, probably a lot worse than crack cocaine.

Certainly the effects of it seem to be.

The term used is probably "drug-induced psychosis."

Certainly take people to hospital on a regular basis in regards

to the side-effects to using the drug

and coming down off of the drug.

The Clarkson police have got their man.

He will be joining them for a ride to the station.

-The CCTV kit turns out not to be stolen.

-Have a nice evening.

His girlfriend and dog are free to go,

but she will face charges over the drugs.

How you doing? It's Cosmopolitan-November-Bravo 104.

We're just heading back to Clarkson Station now, where we will...

We have got some drugs and some paraphernalia.

Contraband from the car will be kept as evidence.

Their suspect doesn't seem fazed to be

back behind the walls of a police station.

That is one charge against you today,

and that is of no authority to drive,

never held an Australian licence

and disqualified from holding or obtaining.

He will be up before the magistrate soon, but in

a country the size of Australia, at least most suspects get a ride home.