Episode 16 Real Rescues


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999 calls have been saving lives for 75 years.

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Today on Real Rescues we hear the call that saved a three-year-old boy's life.

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High up on scaffolding, a roofer suffers a stroke.

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Half his body is paralysed and he's stuck on a narrow platform.

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Just give my hand a good squeeze for me. Marvellous.

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What I'm going to do, chief, I'm going to get you down, OK?

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Hello and welcome to Real Rescues.

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Today we are marking the 75th anniversary of the first ever 999 call.

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This emergency system now operates worldwide

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but it all started here in Britain in 1937.

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When there is an emergency the rescue work starts at centres like this all over the country,.

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Not just police, fire and ambulance, but coastguard and air ambulance.

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Then there are all the other specialist rescue teams,

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including mountain rescue, emergency doctors,

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hazardous response teams and the RNLI.

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We're about to see one of those teams in action.

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A man has suffered a devastating stroke at work.

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But he's not in an office. The sick man is a roofer.

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He's fallen ill almost 30 foot up on scaffolding.

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Ambulance technician Jamie Stubbington is working alone

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in the rapid response vehicle when an emergency call comes in.

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A man showing all the symptoms of a stroke has collapsed in a very precarious position.

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He's on top of a scaffolding tower about 25 feet up.

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Jamie has found his patient. But reaching and treating him is another matter.

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-Is this quite stable?

-I don't know.

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Michael Christopher is a roofer. He had just climbed back up the scaffolding after his tea break

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when he suddenly fell ill.

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Michael is lying across the hatch that gives access to the top tier of the scaffolding.

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Ah... He's not going to roll off, is he? Is he speaking to you?

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No, I can't get a word out of him.

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He's not saying anything. He's got a stroke, I think.

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If Michael just rolls a few inches either way, he'll fall of the platform.

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In the front of my car there's a phone, a phone.

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Jamie is clearly going to need help.

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A specialist ambulance team with expertise in working at heights is en route.

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But they'll need help from the fire service.

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Hello mate, it's Jamie on the 311. We need the fire brigade as well.

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He's about 25 feet up and there's no access to him.

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It's clear he's CVA. He's not responding to us at all.

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He has a GCS of probably about 10.

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But while he waits, Jamie is trying anything to get up to his patient.

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Will it reach it? Just try it.

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-No, we're getting nowhere near.

-Nowhere near.

-Got any more ladders?

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It's vital that Michael gets treatment for his stroke quickly.

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-How are you doing, Mick?

-Mate, can you give us a hand with these?

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The more time is lost, the less chance he has of a complete recovery.

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-Was he talking away to you before?

-Yeah, he came back from his break.

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He was climbing on the scaffold, that's when it happened.

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Now that Jamie is level with Michael,

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he can appreciate just how narrow the platform is.

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There are just a few spare inches each side of Michael.

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Mick, just stay nice and still for me, all right?

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Mick, what I'm going to do, mate, I'm going to put a bit of oxygen on you?

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OK, just stay there. I'm going to put this on your face, fella.

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The fire service arrive. Jamie fills them in.

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-It's clear he had a stroke.

-Yeah.

-If we can get the Bronto in position,

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-and get him off...

-Yeah.

-Fantastic, mate. Good stuff.

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The fire service have brought their platform

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which can be raised into position level with the scaffolding.

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Mick? Give us your finger.

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It's clear now that Michael's right side is paralysed.

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He can only offer Jamie his left hand.

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That's it. You're not going to fall. Just stay there. Just keep breathing that oxygen.

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You're doing really well. You're doing really well. All right? Just go with it.

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Jamie has now got back-up from the heart paramedics,

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who are trained to work in hazardous areas.

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He's got no movement in his right side at all and he's getting a bit agitated up there.

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I have just done a BM on him and it's 5.2. And I've got some O2 onto him.

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But it's... I've got about 15 minutes before it runs out.

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That's fine. I can give you some O2. Do you want to use our mid-stretcher, get him in?

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-We can put it straight onto that.

-Yeah, can do. Yeah. Brilliant, mate. That's fantastic.

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We're going to lift him off there, straight into the Bronto

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bring him down and then get him the medical treatment that he requires.

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It's a bit precarious up there. So going up and down the ladder

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we're trying to keep it to a minimum if we possibly can.

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The heart paramedics carry special climbing harnesses,

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which will enable them to work safely on scaffolding.

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The fire platform slowly moves into place.

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As all the rescue work goes on around them,

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Michael's friend Ted stays on the scaffolding,

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comforting him and keeping him calm.

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One of the firefighters stays up the ladder to make sure Michael doesn't move.

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Paramedic Martin Chester will have to work in the tiny space available.

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Because he's 25 feet up, he clips onto the scaffolding bars.

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Hello, mate. I'm Martin. What's your name?

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What I'm going to do, chief, I'm going to get you down, OK?

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Just give my hand a good squeeze for me. Marvellous.

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Right, it's definitely a confirmed stroke.

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Obviously we've got very little access here.

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So I'm wondering if you're best to come around to this side...

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..in the cage and help me package him from that side and I'll work from this side.

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-It's getting on the front of this?

-I think so.

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He's definitely got a completely right-sided weakness.

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There is a little bit of strength in his legs.

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What we're trying to do, chief, is get you on our stretcher

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so we can keep you nice and safe, all right?

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If you can help in any way at all.

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Paramedic Clare McGonigle is now also on the scaffolding.

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But there's no room for anyone else.

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Martin and Clare have to manoeuvre Michael onto the stretcher,

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knowing that there's no margin for error.

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A few inches too far in any direction will mean a fall for one or all of them.

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Treating a stroke is time critical.

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We'll find out later if the medics get Michael to hospital on time

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to limit its damaging effects.

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Whatever the emergency, the call takers here always stay measured and calm.

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It's not just about getting help quickly, it's about getting the right help.

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No family is more aware of that than the Downings.

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They dialled 999 after their Christmas Day celebrations

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were shattered by a terrible accident

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involving their three-year-old son Freddie. This is the call.

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Well that was Simon Downing making that phone call.

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Here is Freddie's mum, Andrea, and Freddie, I am delighted to see as well.

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Andrea, you were the person who found him outside. How was he when you went outside to see him?

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Well he was crying very loudly, and kind of shouting rather than crying.

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But he was also wriggling around.

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I kind of felt almost reassured that he was still awake and he wasn't unconscious.

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So I kind of scooped him onto my lap and then ran into the house as Simon was calling 999.

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And you and I know as a mum that there are some cries

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when you know it's serious rather than just a small fall?

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Yeah. He didn't look very injured. He really only had some kind of mud on his face and a scrape.

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But his crying was so unusual. It was like he was shouting and crying,

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and he seemed to struggle to open his eyes, which was very worrying.

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We know the air ambulance then arrived and you went with it.

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He was seriously injured. Tell me what he'd managed to do?

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I think they suspected he had skull fractures because they kept him,

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they got him strapped to be very still, very quickly.

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And they said he would be taken straight into Derriford Hospital.

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-It wasn't just skull fractures though, was it?

-No.

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And also what they discovered then, that he had some blood clots as well, two blood clots.

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Serious stuff. He was in a chemically-induced coma for a while.

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-What was it like when he came out?

-He was just amazing.

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He'd been through operations, they hadn't removed the blood clots

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but he'd been intubated for a week. So when he came around it was easy.

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He just was puckering up for a kiss, he was looking around and looking like himself,

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which is what you're terrified that he would be not ready.

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He looked up at pictures his sisters had drawn and he seemed to be, you know, coming back to himself.

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He wasn't walking. he was sitting up.

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He very quickly got round to sitting up and walking around and playing.

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Tell me about him now. Obviously he's back to normal?

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He's back to normal. He does get a little bit emotional, but again he's only three, so...

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Em, he's just at that kind of age. He still can't ride his bike.

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He's got another month before he can do that. But he's been absolutely amazing.

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The recovery's been fantastic.

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Thank you very much. I'm really glad to see he's OK, thank you.

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Now on Real Rescues we've been privileged enough to hear

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some of the most dramatic life-saving calls that come in to control rooms around the country.

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Some of them stay with you a long time.

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Like 11-year-old Hamish, who was on a school trip

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when out of the blue he collapsed with a heart attack.

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This is part of the call his teacher made.

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Well thanks to the 999 system, the call taker, his teacher

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and a parent on the trip, Hamish was given his life back.

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He had a defibrillator fitted and is now a healthy teenager.

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Then there was the memorable John Bird,

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who slipped on a cliff edge on a walk and was left hanging onto a bush over a 100 foot drop.

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With his free hand, John rang the coastguard and called for help.

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Despite his desperate predicament, John retained his sense of humour,

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even managing a joke with the coastguards.

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Well, as the old saying goes, a phone in the hand

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is worth two in the bush when on the edge of a cliff.

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No, that's not right. Anyway, John was rescued

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and he's still telling that story today.

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Every year in Britain a phenomenal 30 million 999 calls are made.

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And since the service began in 1937,

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it's impossible to measure just how many lives have been saved.

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So exactly how and where did it begin? Chris has been finding out.

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Remember, to make an emergency call, dial 999.

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The story of the 999 call began in the 1930s

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when a doctor's surgery caught fire in Wimpole Street in central London.

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Neighbours tried to contact the operator,

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but all the lines were busy with non-emergency calls.

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Five women died.

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The police were often delayed because calls were answered as they came in.

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Operators had no way of knowing which were important.

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One of the neighbours, a dentist, protested to The Times that the system was dangerous.

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The issue went to Parliament and the 999 emergency service was born.

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In wartime, 999 came into its own

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when quick responses from the fire and ambulance services were vital.

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Slowly, towns and cities around the country followed London's lead.

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When a caller rang in panic, a red light and a klaxon on the switchboard alerted the operators.

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The system got more sophisticated, but slowly.

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Emergency, which service please?

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To get the messages which were written on paper,

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down to the controller,

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we had a little electric train set along the top of the switchboard,

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down to the controller.

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He then allocated a vehicle on it, put that back into another train

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going the opposite way, and that's how we did it.

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No trains for Essex police. They moved blocks of wood around a map.

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And Oxford's ambulance control room went one better.

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We had a map of the city laid out on a square table.

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On that square table we didn't just have blocks of wood representing people,

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we had these Dinky cars and the like,

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which we could actually push around with a ruler.

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We take it for granted,

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we dial the number and there is help on hand within minutes.

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We dial this number 30 million times per year.

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In 1937, it was a bit of a novelty.

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The service covered just a 12 mile radius at Oxford Circus,

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a humble start.

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There were more than 1,000 calls in the first week.

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The first from a woman who had seen someone in her garden.

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The police today arrested a suspected burglar in Hampstead, north London,

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after responding to a 999 call. It was made by a member of the public.

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This is the first time that the 999 name service, introduced...

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Of those first week's calls, 90 were classified as practical jokes.

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In the following years, it was not just jokers.

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Ops room staff said that many callers didn't quite understand

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what 999 was for.

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One I recall was a man who had been to the market

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and bought some bananas, he came home and found a slug on the bananas

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so he phoned 999 to ask whether he should eat the bananas

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and throw the slug or throw the bananas away and the slug.

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I'm afraid I said, "Eat the slug and throw the bananas".

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It was the day of the UFO,

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and if you had a misty night and a full moon,

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it was inevitable that someone would see something flying over the house

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or something that had a resemblance to a flying saucer.

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Another lady phoned, her neighbour had borrowed her hairdryer

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and wouldn't give it back.

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She had a date that evening, could we get her hairdryer back?

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Not really an emergency in our eyes. Maybe in hers, but not ours.

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Things have changed, not least computer technology.

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But ops room staff quickly found out the biggest problem about computers, they crash.

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It couldn't cope with the intricacies of paperwork,

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or what was required of the ambulance service -

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therefore, it crashed.

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And when that happened,

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it was one of my jobs to go and restart the system

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in the server room adjoining the control room.

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Inside the door there was a big stick which was marked,

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"starting handle".

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And sometimes,

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when the system had crashed several times during a shift,

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it was very, very tempting to get hold of that starting handle

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and whack the server one!

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In the world of today, the technology used by British Telecom

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to handle emergency calls is way more sophisticated and reliable.

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And it needs to be.

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The set of a large-scale disaster

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puts real pressure on the emergency services - 21st-century challenges

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like terrorist attacks or the London riots.

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To give the men and women who look after us a fighting chance,

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those precious few seconds you spend on a 999 call could make the difference.

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A little later on, we'll be talking to the BT operators on the frontline,

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the people who answer the phone first when you dial 999.

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And who are responsible for putting you through the emergency services.

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Still to come on Real Rescues,

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the hoax callers who continue to waste police time.

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Just six weeks on a new motorbike, now Tim is lying injured in the road.

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Police and medics fear he's broken his leg and possibly his pelvis.

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And if you're in trouble in France, Spain, the States or Australia,

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what emergency number do you call?

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We will have the answers later.

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On Real Rescues we love our animal stories

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and I've got another one for you. Let's speak to Laura if we can.

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-Is that all right?

-Yes, of course.

-Now, you got a call about two dogs?

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-It was two dogs, yes.

-What happened?

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It was a lady who called up, obviously very upset.

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Her two dogs had gone AWOL, rather large dogs

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so you would have thought they would've been seen.

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-And you went on the system.

-I did, I went and had a look on the system.

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-And?

-And found out that we actually had a call from a local hospital

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with two dogs that seemed to match the same description.

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-At a hospital?

-It was a hospital, yes.

-So they got inside?

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They got into the hospital and were wreaking havoc on one of the wards.

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Right, and they managed to catch them, did they?

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When you say havoc, they were running around...?

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Yes, being friendly to patients, entertaining people,

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it was all quite funny.

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So they managed to get hold of them, what did they do?

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They got hold of them, found two spare bedsheets which they put around the dogs' collars

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and tied them to an empty bed and then I told the owner that.

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And the owner, obviously, was really pleased about the dog

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-but was she embarrassed?

-She was very embarrassed, yes.

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She could not understand how they had managed it.

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-Very badly behaved dogs in a hospital.

-Apparently so, yes.

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-Only on Real Rescues.

-Of course.

-Thank you very much.

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Earlier, we saw the specialist hazardous area response paramedics

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arrive to rescue Michael, a roofer, who had fallen

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seriously ill with a stroke on a narrow scaffolding platform.

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Every minute saved getting him

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to hospital will have a big impact on the quality of his recovery.

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Hazardous Area Response Paramedics Martin Chester

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and Claire McGonigle are working 25 feet up on a narrow scaffolding.

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Roofer Michael Christopher has been partially paralysed by a stroke

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and the only way of getting him down is by transferring him

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to the platform of a fire service crane.

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That's it, mate. Grab hold of that bar there. Give yourself a pull. Well done.

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Well done, mate. Are you all right? that will be enough to secure him.

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Put your hands on your lap. Marvellous.

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Straps in place, they can start to move him into the cage on the crane

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Turn his legs around here, bring his upper body over here.

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Getting Michael down safely is their first priority,

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but the paramedics are aware that speed is important

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if Michael is to have a chance of recovering from this stroke.

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Well done. We'll get you down in a minute, OK?

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What we are doing is making sure you are safe.

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It's impossible to lift Michael without taking some bars down,

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but if they dismantle too many,

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the entire structure could become unstable.

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Just say when. OK. 1, 2, 3.

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-You're clicked on, Claire, aren't you?

-I'm on the lift.

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You'll not go anywhere.

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With his feet still protruding, Michael is finally lowered down.

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Claire stays by his side for the journey.

0:22:060:22:08

With plenty of hands to help, he's quickly wheeled off to the ambulance.

0:22:150:22:19

The hazardous area paramedics have played their part,

0:22:220:22:25

now it is down to the ambulance crew to get him to the hospital

0:22:250:22:30

where a dedicated stroke team is ready and waiting.

0:22:300:22:32

His anxious daughter, Tracey, will travel with him.

0:22:320:22:35

And you are not sure what year he was born, are you?

0:22:400:22:43

The stroke has left Michael unable to speak, but he seems aware of everything happening around him.

0:22:440:22:50

Yes.

0:22:530:22:54

We've sent a message to the hospital

0:23:030:23:04

so all the doctors and staff will be waiting for us to see him straight away, no queueing.

0:23:040:23:08

Time is a crucial factor in Michael's treatment.

0:23:080:23:12

Hayley Rudge in the ambulance is monitoring him continuously, and putting together his case history.

0:23:120:23:19

Does he have any medical history at all that you know of?

0:23:190:23:21

-Any high blood pressure?

-High blood pressure.

0:23:210:23:24

-He has had a heart murmur.

-OK.

0:23:270:23:29

At the hospital, Michael is met by a specialist stroke team.

0:23:330:23:37

-Is it Michael?

-Michael.

-Hello, Michael.

0:23:400:23:43

Hayley hands over to registrar Lauren Webb.

0:23:440:23:48

Once she's established that Michael is within the time limits,

0:23:480:23:51

Lauren books him in for thrombolysis, which will treat him

0:23:510:23:55

with drugs to disperse the blood clots which have caused the stroke.

0:23:550:23:59

We have a 65-year-old chap who was up on some scaffolding about 10 o'clock this morning.

0:24:020:24:07

We're going to get some blood tests and an ECG

0:24:070:24:10

and then we will get you around for a brain scan, if that's OK.

0:24:100:24:13

Thanks to the speed of Michael's rescue from the scaffolding,

0:24:130:24:17

he's within the three-hour limit necessary for the clotbusting drugs to work effectively.

0:24:170:24:22

The tests all show

0:24:230:24:24

that he is a suitable candidate for the treatment.

0:24:240:24:27

I'm delighted to say that Michael is here right now,

0:24:290:24:32

looking fantastic and surrounded by his family.

0:24:320:24:35

His wife, Jenny, Tracey, who you saw in the film,

0:24:350:24:38

and your sister, Karen, who was there at the time.

0:24:380:24:41

-I'll come to you. You look great, how do you feel?

-All right, yes.

0:24:410:24:45

All right? Do you remember anything?

0:24:450:24:47

I remember on top of the scaffolding and some chap was holding me down.

0:24:470:24:53

-Do you remember going on to the stretcher?

-No.

0:24:530:24:56

I remember coming down,

0:24:560:24:59

I remember they all rushed me into the ambulance.

0:24:590:25:05

So you have flashes of memory.

0:25:050:25:07

I'll come to the daughters now, because it is horrible

0:25:070:25:10

when you see your dad, who's invincible, looking so fragile.

0:25:100:25:14

What was it like for you?

0:25:140:25:15

Everyone waits for that phone call, don't they?

0:25:150:25:18

Something is going to happen to your father or your mother. It is devastating.

0:25:180:25:22

Shocking, it was horrible.

0:25:220:25:25

You turned up and you see him up there,

0:25:250:25:27

so perilously balanced, what was it like?

0:25:270:25:30

what was going through your mind?

0:25:300:25:32

My legs were shaking, I collapsed on the floor when I found out.

0:25:320:25:35

I was trying to ring everyone, trying get hold of everyone

0:25:350:25:38

and I ended up screaming down the phone to my sister,

0:25:380:25:42

she ended up shouting at me.

0:25:420:25:43

-You ended up on your knees, didn't you?

-Yes.

0:25:430:25:47

It was all a bit of a mess from there.

0:25:470:25:48

I was just glad to be there with him.

0:25:480:25:50

It is important, isn't it? When you see him coming down, to support.

0:25:500:25:54

Even worse for you, Jenny, you were shopping at the time.

0:25:540:25:58

So the first time you saw him was when you got to hospital.

0:25:580:26:01

At the hospital, yes. A few hours afterwards.

0:26:010:26:04

And he was in a pretty bad way?

0:26:040:26:06

Yes, he couldn't communicate or do anything, really.

0:26:060:26:10

You had lost sight in one eye.

0:26:110:26:13

Paralysed down one side, is that right?

0:26:130:26:16

Yeah. They said I had to wait three hours to live.

0:26:160:26:19

-Three hours to live?

-Yes.

0:26:190:26:21

-So every second really counted to get you to hospital?

-Yes.

0:26:210:26:25

-Just a few months later, how are you feeling now?

-I'm feeling good.

-Yeah?

-I am.

0:26:250:26:31

I'm looking at you saying, "I'm feeling good" and I'm seeing

0:26:310:26:34

the three girls behind you, going, "Yes, he's feeling good."

0:26:340:26:37

-Has it been hard work?

-It has been hard work, yes.

0:26:370:26:41

I'm not used to having him around me

0:26:410:26:43

and being around all this time, but he is worth it.

0:26:430:26:47

That's what I wanted to hear. I thought suddenly you were going to get thrown out of the house!

0:26:470:26:52

But you're worth it. Thank you very much for coming in, really great to see you. Look after yourself.

0:26:520:26:58

When the emergency system began back in 1937,

0:27:010:27:04

in the first week they logged a total of 1,336 emergency calls,

0:27:040:27:10

More than 90 of those were hoax calls or wrong numbers.

0:27:100:27:13

Today they are called inappropriate calls

0:27:130:27:15

and they waste a huge amount of time and money.

0:27:150:27:18

Some are from people being stupid, others are more malicious, like this one.

0:27:180:27:22

That malicious hoax call was made to Hertfordshire police.

0:27:440:27:48

I'll speak to Mike here, the deputy manager of the centre. Hi, Mike.

0:27:480:27:52

Hoax calls, inappropriate calls, how common are they?

0:27:520:27:56

Quite common, we can get up to 8,700 year, approximately.

0:27:560:28:01

So over 8,000.

0:28:010:28:04

If I'm thinking about that,

0:28:040:28:05

that puts a huge strain on your services,

0:28:050:28:08

how does it affect the services you provide?

0:28:080:28:12

It affects us from the point of view that, while we're trying to deal with some of these calls

0:28:120:28:16

we have people trying to report genuine incidents that are waiting longer,

0:28:160:28:19

that's more important on the lines.

0:28:190:28:20

The quicker we answer those calls, the quicker we can get a response to people.

0:28:200:28:25

It also means that we put in a lot of work in trying to investigate

0:28:250:28:28

things which turn out to be a hoax, and also we have resources

0:28:280:28:31

tied up on the ground dealing with things that we shouldn't be dealing with,

0:28:310:28:35

which actually should be made available for emergency situations.

0:28:350:28:39

We're all told, don't call 999 or emergency services unless it's necessary.

0:28:390:28:44

Why are you getting these calls,

0:28:440:28:45

why do people call you about inappropriate requests?

0:28:450:28:50

There are a few different reasons, but one of the main ones is

0:28:500:28:53

that people tend to get confused between what is a personal emergency

0:28:530:28:57

for them, it may not be an emergency for the police to deal with.

0:28:570:29:01

Thank you very much. We will hear a few more stories about inappropriate calls from Louise over there.

0:29:010:29:06

8,000 inappropriate calls into this room alone,

0:29:060:29:09

let's speak to some of the call-takers who have to take them.

0:29:090:29:13

Annabel. You had a call from a man from a train station.

0:29:130:29:17

Yes, I did. He wanted directions to a golf club function he was attending.

0:29:170:29:22

-Which is not your job.

-Not really, no.

0:29:220:29:25

He said he did not know where the golf club was

0:29:250:29:27

and he had to get there and asked if I could tell him how to get there.

0:29:270:29:30

Was he agitated?

0:29:300:29:31

He was very agitated, he really did think

0:29:310:29:33

this was something I should be able to help with.

0:29:330:29:35

Thank you. Now the police are sometimes forced to spell it out to people

0:29:350:29:39

very clearly that their call does not warrant a 999 response.

0:29:390:29:42

-Shall I tell you another?

-Go on.

-Someone called because neighbours were chasing each other

0:30:230:30:27

having a very serious fight, with garden hoses.

0:30:270:30:31

-So they were having a water fight?

-Yes, and they called about that.

0:30:310:30:35

Unbelievable.

0:30:350:30:37

Knowing a road well doesn't necessarily mean an accident

0:30:410:30:44

is less likely to happen,

0:30:440:30:45

but when one motorcyclist comes off his bike close to home,

0:30:450:30:49

there are plenty of familiar faces on hand to help with the rescue.

0:30:490:30:53

It's a rainy May day in Hastings, there has been a crash

0:30:530:30:57

involving a motorcyclist and a car in a busy residential area.

0:30:570:31:00

Traffic cops Gary Douglas and Jamie Armstrong are en route.

0:31:020:31:07

We don't know the full circumstances of the accident

0:31:070:31:10

at this time, but initial reports are saying that the motorcyclist

0:31:100:31:13

may have a leg and hip injury, but he's conscious and breathing..

0:31:130:31:17

Tango 208 just for your info, we have traffic backing up all the way down Mount Pleasant.

0:31:170:31:23

They find the road full of emergency vehicles

0:31:230:31:26

and bystanders trying to help.

0:31:260:31:28

The biker, 31-year-old Tim Farrant,

0:31:310:31:33

is flat on his back in the road, surrounded by an ambulance crew.

0:31:330:31:38

He's complaining of agonising pain in his right leg.

0:31:380:31:41

Initial update, are we looking at life-threatening, life-changing, anything like that?

0:31:410:31:46

-We don't know at the moment. It's not looking life-threatening.

-It's not looking life-threatening.

0:31:460:31:50

Paramedic Dan Jefferies already put a collar on Tim

0:31:500:31:54

to mobilise his neck and prevent possible spinal injuries.

0:31:540:31:59

But there are concerns that he could have a broken pelvis as well as a possible broken leg.

0:31:590:32:04

They are still working on the man in the road

0:32:060:32:09

but initial updates is that it's not life-threatening.

0:32:090:32:11

Tim isn't able to tell them exactly what happened,

0:32:150:32:18

but they need to find out how he was hit, it's the only clue as to what injuries he may have suffered.

0:32:180:32:24

Barry Richards was behind in his car and saw it all.

0:32:250:32:28

I saw it, absolutely spot on.

0:32:280:32:31

I'm a biker, I live with bikes, you know, I think bikes.

0:32:310:32:36

He's going to roll over...

0:32:360:32:38

To avoid unnecessary movement of Tim's spine,

0:32:380:32:42

a two-part stretcher is assembled beneath him.

0:32:420:32:45

Tim, now with the extra support of a splint on his pelvis

0:32:490:32:53

and another on the lower part of his right leg, is moved carefully to the trolley.

0:32:530:32:58

Here, a vacuum mattress will immobilise his whole body,

0:33:010:33:04

ready for transport.

0:33:040:33:05

One of the witnesses has offered to help out with Tim's battered motorbike.

0:33:140:33:20

Before you drive off, I want confirmation from him

0:33:200:33:22

that he is happy for these witnesses to wheel his bike down the road.

0:33:220:33:26

just verbal confirmation.

0:33:260:33:28

Is it OK to do it now?

0:33:280:33:29

There are some witnesses who have seen the accident

0:33:310:33:34

and they have spoken to Tim, the casualty.

0:33:340:33:36

They are going to wheel his bike to a local bike shop

0:33:360:33:39

which is literally a couple of hundred metres away.

0:33:390:33:42

We'll let them do that as they have been so helpful and obviously

0:33:420:33:46

they're not going to do that until we've assessed the scene properly.

0:33:460:33:49

Everyone at the scene of the accident seems to already know each other.

0:33:510:33:54

The other car driver involved in the collision used to work with

0:33:540:33:57

Tim's wife, so they're able to comfort each other.

0:33:570:34:01

And all of the witnesses are from the neighbourhood, and very keen to help.

0:34:030:34:07

Tim's wife has been dreading this day

0:34:080:34:11

since he first started riding motorbikes three years ago.

0:34:110:34:14

I ride bikes, it's not nice to see a bike lying on its side.

0:34:140:34:18

I knew this day, you know, I dread to think it happening,

0:34:180:34:21

but I maybe one day knew that it was going to happen.

0:34:210:34:26

I hate bikes so much!

0:34:260:34:27

My wife is in the same boat, she said the same thing when I got knocked off.

0:34:270:34:30

After talking to all of the witnesses,

0:34:300:34:33

Jamie has pieced together a picture of what has happened.

0:34:330:34:36

It looks like the car driver has been waiting at this stop line

0:34:380:34:40

just behind us here.

0:34:400:34:42

The motorcyclist pulled out from the junction down there, being followed by another car.

0:34:420:34:47

It would appear that the left-hand indicator of the motorbike has been left on,

0:34:470:34:50

so the car driver has made the assumption that

0:34:500:34:52

the motorcycle was going to turn left into the junction

0:34:520:34:56

she was about to turn out of, hence the car driver has then

0:34:560:34:58

pulled out, but the motorcyclist continued straight ahead.

0:34:580:35:02

Tim's on his way to hospital, but the police will be at the accident scene a while longer

0:35:020:35:08

gathering photographic evidence.

0:35:080:35:10

There's no brake marks or anything on the road.

0:35:100:35:12

Can you grab one from her view as well? Thanks, mate.

0:35:120:35:16

Tim is being taken to A&E

0:35:230:35:25

when he can have x-rays done to assess the damage.

0:35:250:35:28

I can't remember, my indicator may have been on, I can't remember.

0:35:300:35:34

One thing he does remember is that his wife doesn't like him riding a motorbike.

0:35:340:35:39

My wife will now tell me to sell my motorbike. Having only just got it.

0:35:390:35:45

I've been riding for three years, this is my first accident.

0:35:450:35:48

Probably my last accident, if my wife gets the better of me.

0:35:490:35:53

With injury to Tim's head, spine or pelvis ruled out,

0:35:530:35:57

he's wheeled away to X-ray to check out that painful right leg.

0:35:570:36:02

The driver was given a warning, but there were no charges.

0:36:040:36:08

Tim escaped with no fractures.

0:36:080:36:10

He suffered internal bruising and pulled ligaments in his knee.

0:36:100:36:13

Today, we've been looking back at the history of 999 calls

0:36:180:36:21

and one of the things I wanted to know was why those numbers were chosen.

0:36:210:36:25

I know that answer.

0:36:250:36:26

It has to do with the old mechanical telephone exchanges.

0:36:260:36:29

The 999 numbers were the only ones they could actually handle,

0:36:290:36:32

because 111 and all that was far too complicated.

0:36:320:36:35

The other thing I did today - very good! - was look at what you should

0:36:350:36:38

dial in an emergency in other countries.

0:36:380:36:40

-I will do a test. In France, what is it?

-I have no idea.

0:36:400:36:45

-112.

-Is it?

0:36:450:36:46

-Yes.

-112.

-In Spain, what is it?

-Uno, Uno Dos?

0:36:460:36:51

Very good! 112, it is. Across Europe, it makes it nice and simple.

0:36:510:36:56

-The United States.

-911, I've seen all the programmes on telly.

0:36:560:37:00

-We know that from the emergency programmes. Australia?

-Don't know.

0:37:000:37:05

-000.

-000. I've learned something today.

-Glad to hear it!

0:37:050:37:11

More 999 calls are made to the police than to any other service.

0:37:110:37:14

The task of patching through those calls to the right service

0:37:140:37:17

lies with the BT telephone operators who are the first to take the call.

0:37:170:37:21

That all happens in five major centres, as I have been finding out.

0:37:210:37:26

Emergency. Which service, please?

0:37:290:37:31

When my block caught on fire, I just didn't believe it at first.

0:37:310:37:38

But I can tell you, I've never been so grateful for being close to a phone.

0:37:380:37:41

Nowadays, with the use of mobiles,

0:37:410:37:43

we are always close to a phone all day, every day.

0:37:430:37:47

And to deal with emergency calls, 500 specially trained BT operators

0:37:470:37:51

are on hand working at major centres in Nottingham, Newport, Glasgow, Bangor and Blackburn.

0:37:510:37:59

They are busiest at weekends.

0:37:590:38:01

This is the BT call centre in Nottingham, one of the main centres

0:38:030:38:06

that takes the 999 calls across the country.

0:38:060:38:09

Geoff's in charge here, just to interrupt you momentarily.

0:38:090:38:12

It looks quite busy, how many calls do you take a day?

0:38:120:38:15

Up to about 30,000 here.

0:38:150:38:17

That sounds like quite a lot, they all emergency calls?

0:38:170:38:20

No, in fact, about half of them are not genuine emergency calls.

0:38:200:38:24

Mainly calls made accidentally,

0:38:240:38:25

mobile phones in pockets are a big one, that kind of thing.

0:38:250:38:28

So, I suppose one of your main jobs is to filter them through, right?

0:38:280:38:32

Absolutely, one of our main jobs is to prevent those calls going through

0:38:320:38:35

to the emergency authorities, to free them up to handle the genuine, emergency calls.

0:38:350:38:39

-Brilliant, I'll go and see the boys and girls in action, thanks a lot.

-OK.

0:38:390:38:43

Emergency, which service do you require?

0:38:450:38:48

The fashions have changed since that public information film in the 1980s,

0:38:500:38:55

and so has the technology.

0:38:550:38:57

Today, every call is answered within five seconds,

0:38:570:38:59

and a specialist computer can trace a mobile, as well as landlines,

0:38:590:39:03

to an 80% accurate location.

0:39:030:39:07

Darren is here, hopefully, to explain all.

0:39:070:39:09

Mobiles, as the name suggests, can be absolutely anywhere.

0:39:090:39:14

You've got a mobile number there, tell me how you locate it.

0:39:140:39:16

We take the number that's been calling, put a search in,

0:39:160:39:19

that will then give it a general idea,

0:39:190:39:21

the general area that it's situated, so it could be a number of streets.

0:39:210:39:26

Depending on the confidence of the caller, how much reception they have,

0:39:260:39:30

also, like, a grid reference, so it can give a more general area.

0:39:300:39:33

And again, it will give them vital information

0:39:330:39:35

if they couldn't get that from the content of the call itself.

0:39:350:39:38

It says 80% confidence that you are in the right place.

0:39:380:39:41

You sound all that information off to the police, fire brigade, ambulance.

0:39:410:39:44

Yes, and they work from the details we give them to look on their grid and their maps,

0:39:440:39:48

they have more details on their side of the call.

0:39:480:39:50

No matter how many 999 calls you've taken,

0:39:500:39:53

your heart still jumps about when the alarm goes.

0:39:530:39:56

Throughout the decades,

0:39:560:39:57

the operators have always relied on their instincts

0:39:570:40:00

to determine what's really going on,

0:40:000:40:02

especially at the other end of silent calls.

0:40:020:40:05

Just because there's not a voice at the other end,

0:40:050:40:07

it doesn't mean it's not an emergency.

0:40:070:40:09

I'll just interrupt Linda, if I can,

0:40:090:40:11

-Linda, is it all right to chat?

-Yeah.

0:40:110:40:13

Now, you had what's known as a silent call come through to you.

0:40:130:40:16

What could you hear?

0:40:160:40:18

On the call that came through,

0:40:180:40:19

all that you could hear was a little grunt at the other end of the phone.

0:40:190:40:23

Which could mean it's going off in a pocket, or something?

0:40:230:40:26

It could do, it could be genuinely mis-dial in someone's pocket,

0:40:260:40:28

you know, somebody at work, it could be anything.

0:40:280:40:31

But you sensed something was different?

0:40:310:40:33

Sometimes you do, sometimes your sixth sense kicks in,

0:40:330:40:36

and it does make you think that something, possibly,

0:40:360:40:38

is different with that call, that somebody does need some help.

0:40:380:40:41

So, what you do is, what I did that day,

0:40:410:40:44

you put it through to the police who challenge the call.

0:40:440:40:46

The little grunt was actually an elderly gentleman on the other end,

0:40:460:40:50

he was in distress, he did need an emergency service,

0:40:500:40:53

he was having a heart attack.

0:40:530:40:55

It's not only life-saving, personal emergencies like that,

0:40:550:40:59

the operators are the first to hear of major incidents

0:40:590:41:02

involving hundreds, or even thousands of people, such as a severe storm.

0:41:020:41:07

Here is Sarah, now, you had a phone call from a woman in Scotland,

0:41:070:41:11

and what did she say to you?

0:41:110:41:13

She had physically been blown out of her bed by the wind.

0:41:130:41:17

So, it had been really windy in the middle of the night?

0:41:170:41:20

Yeah, basically, up in Scotland in January,

0:41:200:41:22

they got the really bad weather going on,

0:41:220:41:25

and I started my shift at the beginning of the day,

0:41:250:41:28

not really knowing how bad the weather was,

0:41:280:41:30

till we received a phone call from an elderly lady,

0:41:300:41:33

she was very frail, and I asked if she needed fire, police or ambulance.

0:41:330:41:36

To which she replied, "my window's been blown in,

0:41:360:41:39

"and I've been blown out of my bed, and I'm on the floor."

0:41:390:41:41

With your colleagues around here, you're all saying, oh, yeah, the same thing happened to me.

0:41:410:41:46

Then you think there is something serious going on.

0:41:460:41:48

Yeah, everyone realises around you at that point that something's happening,

0:41:480:41:51

and you're all passing your stories on to each other,

0:41:510:41:54

this has happened, that happened,

0:41:540:41:55

people are, you know, are being blown out of bed, or whatever.

0:41:550:41:59

But she was all right then?

0:41:590:42:00

Yeah, I believe she was all right in the end, yeah, bless her.

0:42:000:42:03

From treacherous weather to terrorist incidents,

0:42:050:42:08

to mishaps on the roads or in the home,

0:42:080:42:11

it's all in a day's work for the 999 service.

0:42:110:42:13

So, three cheers for a fantastic British idea,

0:42:170:42:19

that has been copied by the rest of the world.

0:42:190:42:21

It has stood the test of time,

0:42:210:42:23

and has proved to be the best way to help millions of people

0:42:230:42:27

at a terrible and terrifying time in their lives.

0:42:270:42:30

That's it for Real Rescues, we will see you next time.

0:42:350:42:38

Bye bye.

0:42:380:42:39

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0:42:490:42:55

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