Episode 7 Helicopter Heroes

If you're seriously ill or critically injured up here...

your life is in real danger.

Complaining of severe pain.

Mid 30s. Been ejected from vehicle.

Hospital's an hour away by road,

and speed is the only thing that can save you.

Yeah, Roger, Helimed 99's on route to you. Over.

The Yorkshire Air Ambulance and its highly trained paramedics

are scrambled 1,000 times a year.

'Tell me exactly what's happened.'

'A child was on the path. A wagon cut the corner and ran over him.'

Many of its ex-military pilots flew the SAS into action.

That's not a suitable landing site. This one here is.

Welcome to the life-and-death world of the Helicopter Heroes.

Today on Helicopter Heroes...

a canoe overturns in white water

-and a young woman is feared badly hurt.

-She got bounced out and hit her back off a rock.

The lucky biker whose accident was witnessed by a fully-trained fire crew.

Possibly she's done her pelvis.

It's harvest time, and a crushed farm worker could have lain all night...

if it hadn't been for this text.

The guy was still baling in the fields when he found him.

And paramedic Darren drops in on a couple whose caravanning holiday ended in a dramatic crash.

You've been rolled around in here like a tumble dryer, mate.

It's easy to forget the power of water.

Even a river barely up to your knees

has the force to sweep you off your feet.

But some people find their thrills

taking on the awesome power of white water.

'The latest note says, "Patient is still in the water...

' "has a back injury...

' "..was canoeing." '

Engineers transferring millions of gallons of water from one reservoir to another...

have created man-made rapids in River Washburn near Harrogate...

and a white-water raft has overturned.

The fact that we know they've got a back injury would tell us

that they're conscious,

and I would imagine that they're in the shallow water,

and people don't want to move them

cos of the potential of worsening the back injury.

20-year-old canoeist, Rebecca Lee, is in a bad way.

She was swept 200 metres downstream.

She's hurt her back,

and it's feared she may have damaged her spine on a rock.

We are with a guide who's gone down in her white-water raft.

So we stopped, obviously, pulled everything up.

We see she's got a problem and then try to get somebody to go up the hill to...

..get a signal.

Clearly, you can't get here by road,

and we made a clearing over there for air ambulance to stop.

We carry a life jacket. It's part of the aircraft kit.

We're only trained how to use rescue lines by the fire services down Yorkshire which is...

it's going to be a massive benefit should we be on scene in an isolated location.

We're just over grid...now.

Difficult to spot them. We'll double back on ourselves.

-You got it?

-It's down here, yeah.

-You see where the stream's spread out?

-Yep.

It's good they're waving their paddles at you.

It'll be a tricky landing for pilot Tim Taylor.

The radar has about nine inches. There's no landing.

Where you sticking it, Tim? Down here?

-The next clearing, the people with paddles.

-They're waving at us.

Oh, yeah. Got it. You're about ten metres away from them.

We're going to land.

Go down there, should be fine, mate.

You've got one branch coming out this side, Tim, and you're all clear.

That guy has moved out to the right.

All clear my side.

He's laid down with his paddle.

All clear, still.

But at last, they're down.

I've put us down, mate. You can start climbing out.

She was in a two-man kayak,

she got bounced out and hit her back off a rock.

Her lower back. She's in severe shock,

-so we're trying to keep her awake.

-How long she been in there now?

Now it's 45 minutes.

Hi, there, we believe she has come into contact with a rock on her back, is that right?

Yes, she came out further upstream, then she floated down on her back.

Then the rock's hit her on the back.

She's only complaining of pain in her lower back, nowhere else.

She can wiggle her feet.

-No problem. Conscious throughout?

-Conscious throughout.

-Normally fit and well?

-Normally fit and well.

Rebecca, without moving your head, sweetheart,

I know you've been there a while, but what we need to do

is make sure we get you out safely,

particularly because you've hurt your back, all right?

Once we get you out, we'll try to get you as warm as we can.

Pete knows there's a very high chance Rebecca has damaged her spine,

an injury that could lead to a lifelong disability.

She's been very brave, she has been calm

and people have kept her talking, that's the main thing.

Hopefully she'll be OK.

Paramedics often have to balance conflicting priorities -

moving Rebecca quickly could worsen a spinal injury

but leaving her in the water could lead to hypothermia.

She's been in the water for 45 minutes, so we're going to be hypothermic, aren't we?

I think so. That would be the best option, won't it?

Ask him to bring sleeping bags.

Pete's decided to move Rebecca,

using her friends to protect her neck and back.

When we get you out, there will be someone holding your head

and we'll to try to bring you out in a controlled manner.

-Your head hurts?

-Yeah. My back.

Your back, we know. We know it hurts.

Where you are at the moment, we can't give you anything for the pain

until we get you out a little bit, all right? We'll move you as gently as we can.

But it's a risk and one mistake could leave the team's patient in a wheelchair.

Getting first aid within 10 minutes of your accident

means a massive difference in your chances of recovery

but sometimes you can get injured in the right place at just the right time.

Biker Kate Stead's just had a serious accident on her bike.

But she couldn't have chosen a better place to have it,

right in front of a team of firefighters

with advanced first aid skills and the technology to call in Helimed 99.

The fire crew were on their way to a minor blaze

when they came across the accident. Kate is badly hurt.

Broken femur. Open...ankle.

-Open ankle as well.

-Yes, a fractured ankle.

The fire crew have done a great job.

We saw the commotion,

some lads ran off down the road and this is what we found.

She was catapulted through the air after her bike collided with a parked car, then hit a van.

Kate flew 20 feet before hitting the ground.

She has a serious open leg fracture and is losing blood.

She's done her femur, looks like a mid-shaft femur

and its possible she's done her pelvis, it's hard to say

but I think it has, by the way it has splayed out.

Now paramedics Tony Wilks and Lee Gray are on the case,

they know the bleeding could threaten Kate's life.

She needs hospital care quickly.

-I gave her ten milligrams of morphine.

-She's had ten?

-She has.

As well as the fire brigade, ground paramedics have been making the Helimed team's job easy.

They've printed off Kate's heart trace and even taken photographs of the car she hit.

-These guys here have taken a picture of the car she hit.

-Smashing.

This kind of information can be vital to surgeons trying to work out

how injuries were inflicted and how best to treat them.

We're from the air ambulance, all right?

Have you any pain in your hips at all?

No, just my leg.

Just in case you have hurt your hip,

we're going to put a strap around to secure it and then put you onto a board

so we can get you on to the helicopter, all right?

If you're in any pain, let us know.

She's actually got an open fracture of her right ankle,

which obviously spells trouble for infection

and complications post-incident.

15% of the UK's bikes are ridden by women

and they're among the fastest growing groups of road casualties.

But female riders are still statistically less likely to have a crash in the first place.

I'm going to give you some morphine now.

Can we give you some of this gas and air? We're going to bring your right leg towards your left leg.

So, have some nice deep breaths of that for us, that's it.

Tony and Lee want to prevent broken bones damaging nerves and blood vessels.

They're immobilising Kate's pelvis.

Tony's just put a pelvic splint in, because if there is a fracture there,

that could lose a lot of blood through that fracture.

Fortunately, her chest's been OK but we do think she has been knocked out as well.

The accident happened near the market town of Selby.

Kate's going to be flown to the nearest major hospital, Pinderfields near Wakefield.

But her injuries are serious and her recovery could be long and painful.

Working alone is a risky business but sometimes it's inevitable,

especially in the rural farmland of North Yorkshire.

But when something goes wrong, you have to be creative when it comes to getting help.

The rolling hills of Yorkshire help keep Britain's bakers in business.

When it's harvest time, the combines work round the clock, bringing in the grain.

It's long hours and hard work for farm workers

but in a cornfield on the edge of the North York Moors, there's been a serious accident.

A man has been crushed by a hay bale.

Apparently it weighs over 400 kilograms,

so he's in quite a lot of pain.

Helimed 99 is racing East, heading for a hay field near the market town of Helmsley.

He would have sustained some nasty injuries, being under a weight that heavy.

But there's an ambulance crew on scene.

They're having problems with access to this patient because he's at the farm, he's out in a field

and we need to go and assist them and get this patient off to hospital.

Workers on Mark Wainwright's farm had almost finished for the day

when the boss received this text for help.

I knew where he was working, the guy was still baling in the fields

and Andrew came over and found him.

I was closely following him.

He could have been here for quite a while if there'd been nobody else here.

It came from Polish farmhand, Valdek Kirsch.

His colleagues found him trapped beneath the half-ton hay bale.

He's lucky to be alive.

We're going to have to roll you over on to your back.

We need to immobilise your back, you understand?

We'll then get you off to hospital and get you more pain relief.

Valdek was checking a stack when the bale fell on him.

His pelvis is crushed and his arm is badly injured.

Agh, aagh...

-Is that in your back? Is that here?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

What about if we bring his legs together

and then strap them with some back straps, keep them still?

This is going to hurt when we roll you over.

We'll fasten your legs together so they don't move, understand?

Just relax this arm, sweet. Just relax this. That's better.

Just relax, we'll do our best.

Are we ready, people? Valdek, listen to what I'm going to tell you.

This is going to be painful but we're only going to do it once.

OK? On my call, please.

Ready, steady, move.

Argh!

Valdek is one of thousands of Polish farm workers helping with the harvest on our farms.

He's been in the UK four years and is a popular member of the Wainwright family's workforce.

Keep your head still.

HE SPEAKS IN POLISH

His text was enough to save his life

but the rest of his English is basic.

Sadly, his wife can't speak any English

and is unable to help paramedic Darren understand her husband.

Darren knows the weight of the bale could have inflicted internal injuries

that could still prove fatal if they're not soon identified and treated.

A queried fracture dislocation of his right shoulder.

He's got quite a lot of lower back pain.

We'll be taking him to YDH so we'll need a secondary transfer, over.

What's your pain like now?

How bad?

-Very bad?

-Very.

Sproxton Hall Farm is more than 20 miles from the nearest trauma unit.

By air, Valdek will be in York hospital in ten minutes.

It's late in the day.

If Valdek hadn't had the presence of mind to send his SOS text,

he could have lain undiscovered all night.

He's had the full amount of morphine that we can give him,

he's had 20 milligrams. It didn't seem to reduce his pain much.

It's not had much effect on him, really.

I reckon half that dose would be enough to put me down but...

he seems a little bit more settled now, he's not complaining.

I'm keeping my eye on him a bit cos he started to yawn

and I don't know if that's the shock setting in

or if it's the morphine having an effect on him.

In the next hour, Valdek will find out the extent of his injuries.

And it's not good news.

His pelvis is so badly damaged,

he's later transferred to the Regional Trauma Unit in Leeds for complex surgery.

How are you? Can you manage?

But a few days later, he's on the mend,

and able to reflect on his lifesaving text to the boss.

-Later, send for you mess... to you.

-You sent me a message? Yeah.

-Then, look!

-"Help!"

-"Mark, help!"

-And I thought, "Oh my God!"

-Yeah.

Then you...

..called to me, and I say, "Help, Mark! Help, Mark! Help!"

Then, I don't know how long, maybe 20 minutes.

Then come...

..ambulance here. Or maybe long...

..I not remember how long time.

Everyone knows that Sproxton Hall's gentle giant is lucky to be alive.

But few realise how long his recovery is likely to take.

It's the following harvest time before Valdek's finally fit for work again.

Now let's return to the river bank in North Yorkshire,

where the team is battling to save a teenager swept away in rapids.

Paramedics Pete Vallence and Paul Bradbury

are about to start the delicate operation to move Rebecca Lee.

She's in pain from a back injury suffered when she was thrown out of a raft on rapids...

..and swept 200 metres down the River Washburn.

Get as many hands as we can.

And manoeuvre her up board. We'll get a collar on once we get her out.

The position she's in, we're not going to get one here.

Rebecca's an experienced canoeist.

She's wearing all the right gear,

but she's reluctant to let Pete cut off hundreds of pounds' worth of protective clothing.

-Rebecca?

-Mmm.

-No? You don't want it cutting?

-No.

-Right.

-Expensive.

They're expensive? Right.

To move you off, we're not going to be able to move you properly,

and protect your back as we would like, if you're wanting us to pull it off.

Is it your decision you don't want that happening? You don't want it cutting?

I'd strongly advise you to have it cut, but if you don't want to, we'll try and get round that, OK?

Right, on the head, if you keep the head, and what we're going to do is lift you straight up.

Have we got enough body here for that?

SCREAMS IN PAIN

Right, we're going to roll across, onto her back, on the...

..shout from the head.

Ready, steady, roll.

Well done. That's it. Well done, Becky.

Rebecca's being strapped to a rigid spinal stretcher that will protect her back.

Rebecca, we're not going to be able to secure you properly onto here with this strap on.

At least she's agreed Pete can cut off her buoyancy aid.

The accident happened as Rebecca was experiencing the hair-raising white water ride

that's available every time engineers use a river to transfer water from one reservoir to another.

It's a planned release. There are two reservoirs.

They release water at one end through a dam.

It goes down to the other.

In terms of white water, it's fairly benign.

It's just what's called a grade three.

It's a nice, controlled environment.

It's not for beginners. You need to know what you're doing.

It's a remote place.

Ground paramedics have walked two miles to get here.

Let's get you to the aircraft. We'll check you over. We'll talk about this.

Right, are you guys all right in there?

What we're going to need to do is lift now, so if there's anybody spare that can come in here.

I think as few as possible.

Dozens of canoeists and kayakers saw the accident.

It's good news for the team. There's plenty of volunteers to carry Rebecca.

On three, then. One, two, three, lift!

The pain in Rebecca's spine is worrying.

-Becca, are you hurting now?

-Yeah.

Is it more when we move you and rock you?

She'll be immobilised until she can be X-rayed at Leeds General Infirmary.

But Pete's concerned at what he's hearing.

And you're feeling it between your shoulders still?

Is that just when you were moving your head or...

..or is it still there all the time?

Comes and goes.

Is it this level?

Yeah? So not further down?

Her body temperature's quite low.

Injury-wise, looking at a bit of C-spine tenderness.

Obviously, tenderness in a spine, you treat for the worst, into the collar and spinal board.

Ooh, you are jumpy, aren't you, with needles?

She doesn't like needles,

so we'll probably give her a bit of Entonox and bring her down to LGI,

which is probably about seven, eight minutes from here.

Your heart rate, your oxygen saturations are fantastic.

Can't get a blood pressure at the moment.

We'll try again while we're going in.

But as long as I can feel a pulse, I'm quite happy with that.

That's telling you your blood pressure's fine.

Helimed 98's twin jet engines will make short work of

the 20 mile flight to Leeds but Rebecca's not a confident flier.

Rebecca, you're fine! You all right?

Rebecca, smile.

A little bit nervy, Tim.

But fear of flying could be the least of her worries. In the next hour,

she'll be hearing the outcome of hospital X-rays on her back.

The results could change her life.

Coming up, Rebecca's arrived at hospital

but how badly hurt is she?

She looks like she's been very lucky but time will tell on that.

If it's possible to have a happy accident, one biker's just had one.

She was unlucky to come off her bike but thanks to a team of firefighters,

she's been well looked after since seconds after she hit the ground.

Biker Kate Stead is about to say goodbye to the fire fighters

who came to her rescue after a nasty bike smash.

Their engine was on its way to a minor blaze

when they came across her accident near the market town of Selby.

We pulled up to it and got off then looked back

and saw a bit of commotion, so we got off to see what was happening.

The fire brigade is not really needed here any more,

but the fire they were on their way to is out.

They're staying to help carry the stretcher.

Ready, steady, move!

There we go. lovely.

Kate's leg is broken.

Paramedics Lee Gray and Tony Wilkes fear she's shattered her pelvis.

-Can you remember everything that happened?

-I can't remember anything.

The firefighters who started her treatment so promptly

now have to say goodbye to their unexpected emergency case.

Helmet and everything's in the back.

-Good lad. Appreciate that very much.

-See you later.

Thanks a lot, lads. It were great.

Kate's taking off for Pinderfields Hospital in Wakefield.

Helimed 99 will be there is little more than 10 minutes.

Surgeons are waiting to assess her injuries.

We're going to land to do the initial assessment.

We've moved her. She was complaining about pain down the right side of her pelvis.

Put that together with the probable fracture of the femur,

the long bone in the top of the right leg.

Obviously the impact is in the same area as the pelvis,

so she'd be classed as a two for the fact she may have fractured her pelvis.

It's the start of a hospital stay that lasts almost two months.

There's never a good time to have a road accident

but for Kate, it was doubly unfortunate timing.

I was on my way home, looking forward to having dinner with my husband,

because it was our wedding anniversary and his birthday.

We'd got a nice Indian restaurant lined up that he knew the staff of

and I came round over the top of the hill where I normally come round and bang.

Kate still has clear memories of the firefighters who rushed to her rescue.

The next thing I remember was opening my eyes

and seeing quite a few firemen around

thinking, that was a bit strange, firemen, where are all the paramedics?

Quite pleased to find I was well looked after at my accident scene,

even if it was by firemen or ambulance men.

As well as a broken leg and ankle,

Kate chipped one of her vertebrae and broke bones in her arm.

Her hospital stay is lengthened by her unusual home address.

Walking the gangplank on crutches isn't a great idea,

but she's now back home and in the saddle.

I was sat in hospital all the time thinking, I just want to get back on my bike.

As soon as I could, I was off.

I made sure my leg was strong enough

and I was out on my bike as soon as I could get out on it.

RADIO: ...Forth, Tyne, Dogger.

South easterly, becoming cyclonic later. Rain or thundery showers. Poor.

Typical, isn't it? You know the feeling, you set off on your holidays,

two weeks of fun in the sun, and you get this.

At least you've got your home comforts with you,

But you'd be surprised how many holidaymakers get in trouble a long way from home.

Robin Hood's Bay was once the home of Yorkshire's most notorious smugglers.

Now the famous fishing village is more used to the many tourists

who hunt the rock pools and cliffs for fossils

and walk the coastal paths.

But the journey home for one caravanning family has ended very badly.

And they're trapped in their four-wheel-drive tow car,

which has rolled down the steep hill.

Helimed 99 is on its way to the crash site in Newtondale,

a steep valley bisecting the North York Moors.

'An update has come in to say that there's four casualties.

'63 are on standby in Teesside.

'Could you give me an update as soon as poss

'whether you need a second aircraft, please, over?'

'99, Roger, that's affirmative.'

Down in the valley there's a family needing the Helimed crew's help

but the landing site is too steep for a three-tonne helicopter.

Paramedic Darren is going to have to jump for it.

-Just dust me off, I'll get out and then just leave me.

-Yep.

-OK, man.

As pilot Chris Attrill flies off to find a safe landing site,

Darren sets off to work.

It's a single vehicle. It's come through the barriers and overturned several times.

They've both been conscious while I've been here.

I'm told that she's been trying to close her eyes.

-She's got a head injury.

-Lovely.

-Suspended by her seatbelt there.

Listen, people. You all with us, aren't you? Are you all awake?

-Are you happy down there, chief?

-Yeah, I'm fine.

-OK.

Daz needs to get into the car

but there's a danger it could tip over if he does.

-The Fire Brigade have a plan.

-They look conscious and stable but we need to get oxygen to the lady

hanging in the seatbelt and get some support under her.

We'll get some chocks in, get it safe

and then we'll get first access, get the oxygen on.

The fire crew use ladders to prop the car up.

Daz can finally crawl inside to his patients.

Right-o! Lesley.

OK, let go.

Let go of her arm. There you are, Lesley. How's that?

Despite his car having rolled over many times,

Ian Cooper seems OK.

His wife Lesley hasn't been so lucky.

-How are you going there, chief?

-I'm OK.

-Any pain?

-No.

-You remember everything that's happened?

-Yeah.

Has Lesley been conscious as well?

-When we first stopped, no, she wasn't.

-Right.

Lesley has a bad head wound

and the possibility of a serious neck or back injury is high.

That's it. Just rest her arm down now.

This chap here, obviously, he's been rolled over and bounced around.

-He needs to come out on a board as well.

-I wouldn't say so.

I'm certain.

Yeah, well, unfortunately, although you might not say so,

you've been rolled around in here like a tumble dryer, mate.

Helimed 63, the Great North Air Ambulance,

has arrived from Teesside to transfer one of the patients.

We're going to bring the seat back. Have you got her down there, chief?

Yeah, yeah, keep it coming.

Keep, keep... We will do in a sec. Keep it coming.

You're doing great.

Paramedics have to think on their feet

but getting his injured patients out of this confined space

is taxing Darren.

Firefighters, who's in charge?

-Does anybody think we ought to start cutting t'roof away?

-Yes.

The firefighters are undertaking an extrication

where they're actually going to fold the roof down

so they can actually get entry into the car and to the casualties,

to remove them on spine boards with the assistance of the paramedics.

It's like being down t'pit! That's what I used to do, mate.

Finally, the roof comes off.

Yeah, yeah, go as much as you can. Get it flat.

-OK, seatbelt's going.

-Yeah, yeah.

And with a lot of muscle power, his patient is out.

-Just take it steady.

-Have you got her? Have you got her?

-Yep.

-Thank you very much, gentlemen.

-Thank you.

-Now, then, chief, just relax.

-Can I get out now?

-Let's make sure we're all right. Have you got any pain in your chest?

-I'm not sure.

Take a deep breath for me in. Does that hurt anywhere? Not at all?

Ian and Lesley are being flown to different hospitals.

He's off to Scarborough. She's heading for Middlesbrough, 40 miles away.

It will be several days before they're reunited

and they have both seen their old caravan for the last time.

But it takes a lot to tie down a caravanner, and before a hint of the next summer,

they are fully recovered and out shopping.

This is four berth.

You've got your front lounge, then you've got your fixed bed here

and then the washroom on the end.

They are determined to get back on the road with a new van

and the memories of their last trip away behind them.

The police asked me afterwards what, in my opinion, had gone wrong,

and I, to this day, don't know.

I've gone over it hundreds and hundreds of times in my mind

and I honestly don't know what happened.

Wife Lesley was very badly shaken by the accident

but, despite some reservations,

is keen to get back to her weekends away in Yorkshire.

I'm a bit nervous, is the word, or...

Little bit frightened

because we haven't had anything happen to us in the past.

And both have nothing but praise for paramedic Darren

who kept their spirits up during their upside-down ordeal.

Lesley. OK, let go. It's like being down t'pit!

He was absolutely fantastic, with a fantastic sense of humour as well.

He came through the back of the car

and he was, you know...

He realised I was conscious and Lesley weren't.

He was making jokes. He was absolutely fantastic,

just to sort of take the pressure of the situation at the time.

You've been rolled around like a tumble dryer, mate.

He did his job wonderfully well.

We can't thank him enough and everyone else that was there.

But he's... The one thing I do remember was his sense of humour.

It was amazing in that situation.

Keeping the kids happy on holiday is the secret to having a good time.

But for one young mum and her daughter,

a safe and relaxing day trip on their bikes

turned into a cycle ride they'd never forget.

It's summer in the Peak District and the school holidays

mean thousands have come out to enjoy the great outdoors.

But while most people are out enjoying the sunshine,

the Helimed team are still hard at work.

Helimed 98, air desk. en route to Ladybower, over.

Today they've been called to one of the Peak District's

most popular beauty spots.

It's a job right at the side of a large well-known reservoir.

It's at the visitor centre.

It's very remote round there.

It can take an ambulance quite a while to get there really.

So I think maybe we could be of some benefit.

We've actually got somebody on the ground attracting our attention now.

So we're happy that we're going to land there, near the centre, over.

Yeah, you're clear of the wall.

I've got a group of four people, two dogs at three o'clock.

Colin knows he's going to help someone with a badly broken leg

but still doesn't know exactly where they are.

-Is this the right area?

-Yes, yes.

We are just down here. Is it quite near?

It's just up here. It's actually in the visitor centre up there.

Is it? Right.

Eventually, he finds his patient in an emergency shelter.

I don't want to interrupt anything! Good morning.

Good morning.

THEY LAUGH

Crikey.

INDISTINCT SPEECH

Oh, marvellous.

Paulette has badly broken her ankle by falling off her bike

after crashing into her own daughter.

'Just coming round the corner thinking,

'"oh, we're nearly back now,"

'and then unfortunately I heard a scream.'

So obviously, Paulette's in quite a bit of pain

and it was only when I got up that we realised she was on the floor

and that she wasn't able to move.

How's your pain at the moment? On a scale of nought to 10,

0 is nothing and 10 is, "Oh my goodness me, pain".

Um, if I move it, it's about nine or ten.

But if I sit still, it's about seven or eight.

OK. So it's still quite painful when you're there? Right, OK.

Colin has a unique way with patients,

usually involving a string of bad jokes.

Right. Going to give you some less-phine,

it's a bit cheaper round here, than morphine.

Slightly different as well.

They're not all as bad as this, you know?

Some are even worse.

Right then. Just a little bit of a needle going in.

Keep your eyes closed if you want. I'll keep mine shut.

LAUGHTER

In this remote moorland valley, even their radio's stopped working.

They can't get a land ambulance to take Paulette to hospital.

Rejected by network, that's all you need, isn't it?

So she'll be taken by car to Helimed 98.

-You get a flight in a helicopter.

-Right.

-Can't beat that, can you?

It's been such a busy day for the ambulance service,

another air ambulance has arrived at the same spot so their paramedics are roped in to help.

This is our Paulette. She was cut up by her own daughter,

of all things.

-Oh dear, that's not good.

-On the bike.

Despite Paulette's pain, Colin's determined to keep her smiling.

You can do the can-can if you want as well.

SHE LAUGHS

You weren't expecting this, were you?

Come on, hurry up.

It's a lot quicker. It's only a few minutes away by the helicopter.

It's 45 minutes by land ambulance so... a long way.

-You can jump in now, Sammy.

-OK.

So Paulette is soon being lifted out of the Derwent Valley on her way to hospital.

An injured mum out of action for a few months,

while her daughter who unintentionally caused the accident,

has some extra helping out at home to do.

During the holiday season, the Helimed choppers can be sent

to help deep in the Yorkshire Dales, high up on the remote moors

or find themselves flying out to the seaside.

They go wherever there are holidaymakers who need their help.

Some East Coast resorts like Scarborough and Whitby

double their populations overnight as soon as the schools break up.

But at Helimed headquarters, reports are coming in

of a serious accident on a main route to the beaches.

Two coaches with approximately a hundred people, 50 on each coach.

I've got 99, 58 and 63 running.

So I may need you if it gets any worse, over.

Dispatcher Dave Gardner knows this could be a major incident.

Now it might be in Kirby or just before Kirby.

The accident's happened a half-hour drive

from the nearest A&E unit, on the edge of the North York Moors.

Paramedics Darren and Kate know that the distances involved

mean their chopper could be vital.

We've got an incoming call that two coaches have crashed

head-on on the this road.

It is quite a fast road,

with reports of possibly up to 100 people involved in this incident.

We've deployed three different helicopters and we've also got

the Great North Air Ambulance coming from Teesside

and their second aircraft which is coming across to assist us

from Penrith I think.

The two buses were taking trippers from Tyneside

to the Yorkshire coast when one ran into the back of the other.

This is 99 receiving.

Helimed 99, can I pass you a message, please? Over.

99, Charlie one has arrived on scene.

He's wanting at least three ambulances

on his first sweep through.

Paramedics are trained to think ahead.

Darren's already planning the rescue of the less seriously injured.

If there's a potential for large numbers of walking wounded,

it might be a good idea to get some PTS ambulances

that have got seats on them so we can remove these patients

from the scene, over.

'Yeah, Roger. Thanks.'

The Great North Air Ambulance is already on scene.

Its crew have already examined the victims.

But they have good news.

Despite several people with whiplash and neck pains,

no-one appears to be seriously hurt.

How are we doing, folks? Hello, hello. I'm Daz, pleased to meet you.

-Pleased to meet you.

-What can I do?

So far, there are obviously two coaches, this lot apparently

haven't complained of any neck or back pain. Those all have.

The fire brigade and ambulance crews are up there...

RADIO DROWNS OUT SPEECH

I've so far let them know that we're going to need approximately ten vehicles

to account so far for the people who've stood up with neck pain.

I haven't asked or spoken to any of these lot yet.

These all seem to be walking around and not complaining.

This has been a very lucky escape. But the team has to be sure.

A minor neck pain could be a symptom of a serious spinal injury.

What we're going to do is, the doctor's going to go through

with me who needs dealing with and who doesn't.

Everybody stood up and walking, the likelihood is they'll be able

to make their own way to hospital or just ride sat up in an ambulance.

But once we've sorted it with the doctor,

we'll go from this end to that end and we'll work it from there.

We'll not keep you long, all right?

Many passengers are shocked.

Just as well these bairns had seat belts and that on.

Or it would have been worse. It would have been worse.

Definitely. It was horrible.

Terrible, honestly, a disgrace. I'm shaking.

One woman will be going to hospital, but just as a precaution.

She's pregnant, four months pregnant. She took a whack on the side

and she's got to go to hospital and get checked out, get the baby checked out.

Hopefully everything's OK. Fingers crossed.

Thanks to dispatcher Dave,

an RAF Sea King has joined the rescue operation.

It can fly 16 patients to hospital at once.

Any of these walking wounded going?

I'm going round now to ask each individual.

RAF are saying they're willing to take some, if you haven't

got enough PTS motors.

-I've got three PTS coming.

-Right.

The emergency services also have an unusual problem.

Some of the bus passengers seem rather too keen

to go to hospital.

Perhaps it has something to do with the prospect of a free ride with the RAF.

I've just spoken to the ambulance officer and what she's saying is,

she's got three patient transport vehicles coming and she says that

under no circumstances is she going to put you to the trouble

of putting some of these, who basically want a ride, on your machine.

Right, so...

So as far as she's concerned and I think most of us, you can...

We'll need formal standing down by our internal authorities

so we can do that via air wave to Kinloss really.

I can do that via our base and then Kinloss.

Can you do that and then we'll get Kinloss to task us directly? So we'll stand down, effectively.

Yeah. You can make your way to Leeds and get the kettles on!

Yeah, OK.

It could so easily have been a disaster.

But many of the passengers are now keen to continue their trip to the seaside.

It takes more than a minor bump to dampen the holiday spirit.

The patients that prove that the weather's not the only thing

that can ruin your holiday.

Now let's return to the case of the teenager who was swept away

by man-made rapids on a North Yorkshire river.

On the River Washburn deep in the Yorkshire Dales,

canoeists and kayakers are enjoying a monthly thrill...

A white water ride on man-made rapids created by millions

of gallons of water being transferred between reservoirs.

Helimed 98, now landing.

An hour ago, 20-year-old Rebecca Lee was with them.

Now she's touching down on the rooftop helipad of the regional trauma centre

with what the Helimed team fear is a serious back injury.

Was it a kayak you were in then? Two person?

-A raft.

-A raft? Right.

Paramedics Pete Vallance and Paul Bradbury believe

Rebecca may have injured her spine on a rock as she was swept 200 metres downstream.

-Just clinging on to the side?

-Just in the rocks, in the shallows. Other canoeists took her in.

-So she wasn't underneath?

-Not under at any stage, no.

-She had her buoyancy aid on and helmet.

-Right.

-But obviously the length of time she was in...

-She was bumped around?

Mid-line pain, lumbar region and upper thoracic, C spine area.

But the Leeds General Infirmary team are experts in trauma.

A series of tests over the next hour will allow them to detect a back injury.

My name's Matthew, I'm one of the doctors.

You're obviously very cold, yeah?

She banged her head on the log as she's come down as well

which obviously leaves the potential for injury,

broadens it much more, so although she's not complaining

of any particular injuries at the moment, other than her back that she identified,

then obviously she'll need checking over more thoroughly than just falling in the water.

She looks like she's been very lucky but time will tell.

And the following day, there's good news.

Rebecca's badly bruised but her spine is undamaged.

And within a week, she's back on the water

pursuing the hobby she loves.

'We went a bit fast cos we wanted to beat the boys.

'And as they came to the wave, we started turning sideways a bit.'

We knew we are going to go over anyway.

So the raft overturned.

'It's not the water that scares you, it's the rocks.

'They're what does the damage.'

Obviously, I was bouncing off them.

Canoeing, kayaking and rafting are safe sports,

but every year, an unlucky few suffer serious injuries

and deaths aren't unknown.

But Rebecca is determined to get back in the rapids.

'You just practise, build yourself up gradually.'

If you're scared to go on the water then there's no point canoeing.

And Rebecca's still plucking up the courage

to ride the white water that she nearly drowned in.

But she says it's only a matter of time.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

E-mail [email protected]