Episode 14 Helicopter Heroes

When the people of rural Yorkshire

dial 999,

help can be a long time coming.

The Yorkshire Dales are as beautiful as they are big,

but if you're seriously injured in a landscape as gigantic as this,

your life is on the line.

But in the remotest parts of Britain's biggest county,

they look to the skies for help.

Look on your left, can you get in that grass field?

Yes, mate, go for that.

From high drama in the peaks...

to high waters in the Dales,

the Helimed team's at the heart of almost every rescue,

bringing 21st-century medicine

to some of Britain's most isolated communities,

and saving lives against the odds.

Today, on Helicopter Heroes,

this road roller weighs three tons,

and the driver is trapped underneath.

It's resting on top of him,

they're trying to secure it with this big crane.

A pregnant mum has a bump.

How's your tummy?

All right, is it? Good.

There's a major rescue operation, after a man

plunges into a moorland waterfall.

The Fire Service are going to set up some lines

to put him up onto this side of the river.

Hello, sir. Open your eyes.

And the team battles to save this biker's life.

Get chest decompressed, this left side.

Who wouldn't like a view like this

from their living room window?

It's the wide-open spaces and scenery

that draw people to live in Yorkshire's Dales,

but making a home up here has its downsides.

The deep valleys of the Pennines

have always presented builders with a challenge.

Towns like Hebden Bridge cling to steep hillsides,

and developers must spend a lot of money

levelling the ground before they can lay foundations.

We're looking at a detail of

an industrial roller that's gone down a hill

and run over one of the workmen.

He's not crushed by it, but he's trapped underneath.

The Ambulance Service has got quite a lot of assets on this,

including one of our doctors. We're just going to go out there

and back them up, in case it is more serious than we first believed.

And then transfer him to a major trauma centre if needed.

Trapped underneath this road roller is driver Dan Willis.

He's pinned by his legs,

and if the earth moves, he could be crushed at any time.

Roger, on approach...

THEY TALK INDISTINCTLY

-Do you want me to stay with the aircraft?

-Yeah. At this point.

-Good to the left.

-I'll go and scope out what it looks like elsewhere.

All right, bud.

-How's he managed this, then?

-He got too close to the edge and slid off.

-Has he jumped out of it?

-No, no.

He's almost reversed back, and just that bit too far,

and it slipped over the edge.

Flying doctor Jez Pinnell dashed to the scene from his home nearby.

We can't really assess him because

he's still underneath the roller.

Obviously, it's a three-ton roller,

and it could do a serious amount of damage.

He's only complaining of pain in his lower leg at the moment.

The Ambulance Service's specialist rescue squad - the HART team,

in their distinctive green uniforms -

is leading the battle to free Dan.

Looks like where he's come off, he's been thrown out,

and he's ended up in a ditch, which has, erm, probably saved his bacon.

Quick-thinking colleagues called in a mobile crane

to stop the roller moving further.

Its jib is now supporting some of its weight

and reducing the pressure on Dan.

The lad runs up to see if we were about, cos he were panicking,

so we shot round with the crane wagon and got the crane out, and...

..just took the weight off him while the services landed.

Problem being is, we put more load on,

then you get less happening with that.

Whereas what we could do is air-bag it,

lift it, turn it at the same time.

Going to sort of gently lift it off him

in an effort not to make his situation any worse.

Once that's done, we'll sort of extricate him.

The HART team have given him some ketamine,

which will make him forget his experience, to a degree,

we would hope. And we'll be able to get him out

without too much trouble.

As firefighters dig under the roller to free Dan,

the Helimed team can only wait.

It's been raining, and the soft ground

may have been a major factor in his survival.

He's still underneath, but it's pretty soft mud

and he's kind of lying in the foetal position

with this thing half on top, but not pressing down too much.

The team's optimistic that its patient's injuries are minor,

but that could change. One wrong move now could be fatal.

It's time to free Dan.

I reckon I'm stood in the best place - up here!

They've got the expertise for this, let them do it.

At last, Dan is slowly slid free.

The signs are good, but Dan's miraculous escape

won't be confirmed until Dr Jez has completed his examination.

One of our doctors is just going to make an assessment on him,

to see whether he needs transferring by air. If not,

we'll just take him directly into Huddersfield.

I'll get one of these...

-I'll come with you, mate.

-It's all right, mate.

It's supposed to be round the other side.

-Doesn't look too bad, does it?

-No.

-140/85, slightly tachy.

-Take him by road to Huddersfield, mate.

-Happy?

-Yeah.

-OK, matey.

-See you later, bud. He's all yours.

-He's mine.

-He's yours.

Yeah. Roger. He's been assessed by the doctor on scene

and he's going to be transferred by road, over.

It's been a remarkable escape, and Dr Jez is delighted.

Wasn't life-threatening, doesn't appear to be limb-threatening, so...

it looks like he's been a lucky boy.

He's escaped very lightly, considering what could have happened.

As Helimed 99 returns to base, Dan is driven to hospital,

where doctors find his leg is broken in six places.

He also has minor hand injuries.

He undergoes surgery the following day, but he's soon allowed home

to continue his recovery - the luckiest man in the Pennines!

There aren't many places you can still relax

and drive for pleasure.

Life in the fast lane today is as much about

controlling your car's electronics

as moving the steering wheel. With sat nav, cruise control

and even automatic braking, some models

actually contain three computers.

And when something goes wrong on a motorway full of heavy lorries,

an accident can be only seconds away.

..99, pass your message.

'It's junction 47 of the A1,

'just to the east of Knaresborough.

'It's a car into a ditch, two patients trapped.'

Helimed 99 is only minutes from the crash.

You can see the car in the field,

behind that red truck and the white van.

You can see the car's in the hedge.

Yeah. I'll have to go along probably, and then come back.

Trapped in the family people carrier

is 28-year-old Jane Humphrey.

She was driving husband Paul, daughter Izzy,

and Baxter the dog home from visiting relatives

when she switched off the cruise control and the engine died.

Trying to reach the hard shoulder, the car clipped a lorry and rolled.

I was the first one on the scene.

-I passed this on to the police officer.

-So, which...?

-The little girl, Izzy, she's six. Paul, with the blood on him.

-Yeah.

-And Jane Humphrey, who's 28.

-Right, OK.

-And do you know them?

-I don't, no.

What's worrying her rescuers is that Jane is 14-weeks pregnant.

Six-year-old Izzy is being cared for by ground paramedics.

She has a bump on the head.

She and her dad appear to have had a miraculous escape.

Trapped in the back, Baxter the dog is the worst casualty.

He's being carried from the wreckage,

apparently lifeless.

Hiya, mate, I'm an A&E nurse from James Cook.

Oh, right. Hiya, my love.

But mum-to-be Jane is the cause for most concern.

Everybody else up there is fine, there's cuts and bruises,

but nothing going on exciting.

-She can't remember...

-We're more than likely

going to be taking... Is it your partner?

Paramedic Lean Baronowski can see the family car

rolled after the impact, and he is concerned

Izzy may have undiagnosed injuries.

-You bump your head somewhere, Izzy?

-Yeah.

-Whereabouts?

-Let's have a feel. Going to make sure it's not bleeding.

-OK.

Where did you bump it?

-Sorry? No pain here?

-No.

-No pain here? Just right on your head there?

Just keep really still, all right?

Someone will get you to hospital to be assessed, OK?

-Are you pregnant?

-Yeah.

-OK, how far?

-14 weeks.

Seat belts are life savers,

but they put huge strain on the abdomen and chest.

No pains at all round your tummy?

Paramedic Darrell is concerned that the forces

Jane experienced in the accident may have damaged her unborn baby.

We're going to get the board underneath her,

and then we'll get her out sort of in that direction.

I think that'll work fine.

It's crucial Jane is removed from the car with great care,

for the sake of mother and child.

Jane, can you straighten this left leg?

Cos what we're going to do is feed a board underneath you. Yeah?

And then we'll get you onto it.

Hope for the family pet is fading.

An emergency vet has been called for Baxter the dog,

but it'll be some time before she arrives.

Your crew's here, they're just getting the scoop in.

The Helimed team must focus on the human casualties.

Jane urgently needs a scan at Leeds General Infirmary.

-OK, on your call, pal.

-On three, then. One, two, three...

You all right there? Nice and slow.

We've got some room to move, all right?

Jane's neck has been fitted with a brace, in case she's suffered

a spinal injury. It's just a precaution.

We're going to take this lady through to LGI,

and her young daughter.

I know Harrogate's closer, but if they can all go to Leeds,

that'd be...

appreciated.

Nice and still, good girl.

All right, guys,

if we lift all the way up to his chest...we'll get her about

half the way in, and then we can put her down on the stretcher, OK?

Start peeling away, pass her forwards.

Brilliant, brilliant...

Perfect, spot-on, thank you very much.

So you can't remember what happened?

-I think I put cruise control on, but it all just stopped.

-Right, OK.

We're going to be lifting in a minute,

so I won't be able to talk to you.

We'll be about ten minutes in the air,

then we'll be landing on the top of LGI, OK?

-How's that leg, is that a bit comfier now?

-Yeah.

Do you think it was just because of the position you were in?

Pilot Andy will have her there in eight minutes,

but pregnant patients are difficult to treat.

Many drugs have dangerous side effects for an unborn child.

Backing away from the scene, cos I don't want that car...

OK, you're looking all right.

Fine to your right. OK, let's go.

99 lifted on the scene.

-'No worries, have you got an ETA?'

-Yeah, eight minutes.

What's wrong with the casualty?

She's got a head injury, that's the only thing she's complaining of,

but the fact she's pregnant,

we need to get that looked at, obviously,

and she's got quite a swelling on the top of her head, so...

And she doesn't remember the incident.

We've got to assume that anything that we do,

anything that's happened to the mother...

directly affects the unborn child.

99 coming into land, LGI...

'Thank you very much.'

Jane's on her way for a series of tests.

Obstetricians have been called to examine her.

Many babies have survived seat-belt injuries to their mothers,

but no accident like this is routine. The next few hours

will be critical.

It's several days before Jane can return to the family home.

She's battered and bruised,

but the good news is that her baby has been given the all-clear.

It's a relief for the whole family.

I like that one.

'When I came round, I was worried about baby,

'I was worried about Izzy, and obviously about Paul,

'but Paul was there, so I could see that he was fine.

'Baby was fine, and Isabelle was absolutely fine,

'so we were all very lucky.

'We lost all power on the car.'

The main thing we thought to do,

with it being in the middle lane,

was to get over onto the hard shoulder.

So when we looked, it was clear,

went across, but didn't get across in time,

and a lorry hit us.

The last thing I remember is the lorry

being in the rear-view mirror.

When it rolled, I started to wake up,

and I were like,

"What's happened?"

I were really scared.

And I were worried about Baxter. I were like...

..saying, "Is my dog all right?" and "Is my mummy all right?"

The people cut my clothes off then, and I were like,

"I'm fine, why did you have to cut my best bloomin'...

-"my best..."

-Dress.

-"..dress...off?"

And it had all flowers on it,

and it were blue, and I were like, "Aw!"

And there's more good news.

Despite fears he'd been mortally injured in the back of the car,

Baxter the dog was revived by the emergency vet,

and now he's back to his old self.

'He didn't move.

'Eventually, when the emergency vet came to lift him - I think

'they were putting adrenaline in him or something -

'he just sparked to life.'

And Baxter is apparently none the worse

for his near-death experience -

apart from an understandable reluctance

to ride in the family car.

From the Dales to the Moors, the sheer force of water

created Yorkshire's most beautiful landscapes.

Today, its rivers drain 10,000 square miles of the UK,

and when they're in full flow, their banks are dangerous places.

Today, Helimed 98 is joining a major rescue operation

on the North York Moors, where it's reported

a photographer has fallen down a waterfall.

What equipment do we need to bring down, or who needs to come down?

For this particular job,

there's a lot that could be wrong with the patient.

There's potentially a fall from a great height,

off the waterfall into the water itself.

So we're going to have to be quite careful with this patient,

even if he seems relatively well now,

if he has been submerged for a length of time,

he could have a drowning problem or near-drowning problem.

Looking for the waterfall, half a mile to go.

Half a mile, OK, there's the river...

The accident's happened near the village of Goathland -

location for the '90s TV drama Heartbeat.

-Can't see anything down there, can you?

-Door is secure.

-Roger.

So the waterfall in the trees there is quite fast moving,

so I think he would get knocked downstream from there.

Concern is growing for the safety of the missing man,

but pilot John Slater's immediate concerns

are to find somewhere to land.

OK, slight slope.

-OK. Skids in the grass.

-You're on.

Right, they've found him.

-Have they found him?

-RADIO CHATTER

David Ball, from Nottinghamshire, was out with his father

taking pictures of a waterfall called Nelly Ayre Foss

when he slipped and fell.

He's cold, in pain, and trapped at the bottom of a ravine.

We'd been for a walk from Goathland

to the bridge at the bottom here.

My son decided he wanted to carry on

for a little bit further to see if

he could spot a waterfall he'd heard about,

to take some photographs.

I said I was a little bit tired, I'd walked enough,

so I was going to go up to the car, come back down and meet him.

Unfortunately, I lost contact with him,

due to lack of signal and stuff. A couple of hours later,

wandering around the fields, I did manage to get a signal,

upon which time, he notified me that he'd fallen down a cliff

and obviously had notified the emergency services.

They've got to him down by the river,

so have a wander down, or I'll have a wander down,

-and then see if there's somewhere a bit closer to get to.

-Yeah...

But from the sounds of it...

He's standing up, he's all right, he's covered in mud,

but he's not that badly injured, by the sound of it.

He's in a real pain of a spot,

so the fire guys are going to put him up to this side.

-Whereabouts have you got the ambulance to?

-Up there.

-Is it way up there?

-Yeah.

We'll get the pilot to shift the aircraft into this field,

-and then we'll fly him up to the ambulance.

-OK.

Local firefighters know incidents like this can be very serious.

After heavy rainfall, moorland streams can become

lethal torrents in minutes.

A few years ago, a car was swept away

and its driver drowned near here.

Have you guys got a space blanket, or something to keep him warm?

The patient doesn't appear to be injured,

he's just trapped where he is and we're struggling to get him out,

so the fire service are going to set up some lines.

The sides of the ravine are steep -

getting David out of here isn't going to be easy.

Assessing the bank side and the terrain,

it's safer to take him across the river

and down the river over to the air ambulance on the left-hand side,

which was the safest option for the casualty and the crews.

'There's lots of problems with access to incident sites.

'This is a beautiful site, this young man's a keen photographer,

'he's been taking pictures and he's slipped in.'

If it wasn't for the aircraft,

it'd be a long walk for Mountain Rescue or Fire and Rescue

to take this guy out to a land vehicle.

So in circumstances like this,

it might only be a 30-second flight for us,

but it might save them an hour or so's walk over rough ground.

The Helimed 98 is soon lifting off

with a very wet, very cold patient.

David's been lucky - his injuries are minor.

Pilot John's giving him a lift to a waiting land ambulance,

so he can be examined.

All right, lads?

-That's it.

-There we go.

'Yeah, it has been a happy ending, yeah.

'It seems that he hasn't got any particular injuries,

'any broken limbs, cuts, scratches, anything like that.'

So he's going to go off to Scarborough by land.

For his dad, it's a moment of relief.

David's not the first visitor

to the North York Moors to find himself

in a life-threatening situation through no fault of his own.

Set my tripod up,

got a couple of pictures -

hopefully some good ones - well,

they'd better be, after all that!

Yeah, and then, er, I was going back and just literally lost my footing.

A rock came down and knocked me into the water,

and basically, I was stuck in the water.

Probably about an hour-and-a-half. I had to call for some help.

As soon as I called the services, they were down here,

and they've been a great help. So, yeah, appreciate all their help.

Whoever's gone into the water, to the ambulance, everything,

absolutely briliant, yeah.

David later goes home to Nottingham with little more than

a few wet clothes to remind him of his accident.

There's one piece of technology

that has probably saved more lives than any other,

and 94% of us carry one around most of the time.

There are 82 million mobile phones in the UK,

and on all of them, emergency calls are free.

Are there chemicals or other hazards involved?

And is anyone trapped?

More than 2,000 people call 999 every day in Yorkshire.

Emergency operators are highly trained

to get the right information as quickly as possible.

Just reassure her help is being arranged.

Don't let her have anything to eat or drink,

it might make her sick or cause problems for the doctor.

But some confusion is inevitable,

especially when emergencies are unusual.

Today, firefighters have been called to reports of an explosion,

and Helimed 99 is joining them.

'99... It looks like he's been using a paint compressor

'which has exploded. CPR is in progress, over.'

The fact that he's gone into cardiac arrest

so quickly after the explosion

indicates that he's probably got some kind of catastrophic injuries.

When you're dealing with blasts, there's lots of potential problems.

Paramedics Sam Burgess and Matt Syrat

are used to being given a map reference

and little more to go on,

but the location of this incident is no factory.

What are we looking for?

Is it the middle of nowhere, an industrial estate, or...?

-Er, I think it's a farm. Workhouse Farm.

-A farm?

-Yeah.

Industrial accidents kill a worker every other day in the UK,

and 27,000 are injured.

Helimed 99 is zeroing in on a farm building,

and judging by the smoke, there's been a fire.

99, overhead scene, about to touch down.

Clear of animals and wires. You're looking good

on the right-hand side, mate, plenty of space.

There's been no blast, but the team's patient is critically ill.

-Hey-up, gents.

-Hiya, guys.

This is Stuart, he's...

A few minutes ago, farm worker Stuart Hindwell

was in cardiac arrest.

Firefighters have revived him by shocking his heart

back into rhythm, but he's still fighting for life.

We think he's been overcome by some fumes,

he was sandblasting the trailer.

Can't see any trauma at all.

Stuart was using a sandblasting machine

when the compressor supplying him with air caught fire.

He was slowly poisoned by smoke and fumes.

If workmates hadn't found him,

he'd have been beyond the help of the Helimed team.

Was he in arrest when you guys got here?

Erm, I found a pulse, pretty much.

All right, Stuart, the paramedics are here.

They're just working to make sure you're all right.

He's been doing some sandblasting, the compressor's caught fire,

and he's been overcome by fumes.

Found by his mates, unresponsive.

When these guys got here, he had a pulse,

he was breathing spontaneously.

All right, mate, sharp scratch, try and keep nice and still for us.

-Just wait for him to...

-Relax this arm, Stuart, relax it.

Nice and relaxed.

Sam and Matt are feeding him pure oxygen to counteract the poisons.

OK... Ready, steady, lift.

Incidents like this often lead to brain damage.

Stuart needs expert hospital care urgently.

ETA, with you approximately 15 minutes...

OK, thanks very much. Cheers, bye.

Stuart's being flown to the Trauma Unit at Hull Royal Infirmary.

Thanks to the local chemical industry,

consultants there are familiar with the effects of almost any substance.

But the toxins Stuart has inhaled are deadly.

He's very fortunate to be alive.

Ready, steady, slide.

STUART GROANS

'The chemicals have accumulated in his body,

'it's had more and more of an effect,

'and eventually, he's gone into cardiac arrest'

or passed out, which is when he's been found by his colleagues.

Doctors identify carbon monoxide as the main poison

affecting Stuart. It gives victims rosy cheeks

and a feeling of wellbeing,

and yet, it's a combination that kills dozens of people each year,

many with faulty stoves and gas appliances.

It's one of these that you can't smell,

you can't taste or see.

That's why it's the silent killer,

because it gets people without them knowing.

Unfortunately, I think that gentleman might have been inhaling,

breathing, swallowing that carbon monoxide for a good hour

before it's suddenly taken effect and made him go unconscious.

Stuart is detained for several days

and given oxygen therapy,

before he's well enough to return home.

Yorkshire is the UK's third most popular destination

for foreign tourists,

but there are some places where the day-tripper is king.

And in summer here on the coast,

few visitors have travelled more than 60 miles to get here,

often bringing their caravans with them.

This is Helimed 98...

Helimed 98 is heading to a village near the market town of Beverley

on the edge of the Yorkshire Wolds.

This is biking country and one rider's had a serious accident.

-The trees on the right, Chris.

-Got those, the small ones.

Just check we haven't got any posts behind us.

Pilot Chris is touching down at a caravan site.

A motorist turning in to find a pitch for the night

has been in a collision with a bike.

Hello, mate, how are you doing?

What do they call you? Were you on your own?

Paramedic Leon can immediately see the rider's life is in danger.

Come in at speed, overtaking a row of traffic,

they've turned right into here and he's gone over.

So, I got the motorist to put their own jack under him.

-We've got a chest impact, have we?

-I think so, yeah.

You open your eyes for me?

Open your eyes. Hello there.

John Hanna's pinned under the caravan

and the damage to the door suggests he's sustained a major impact.

His moving air in his chest, but it doesn't sound...

-It doesn't brilliant.

-It doesn't brilliant.

Passersby have done their best.

A car jack is easing the pressure on John's chest,

but he's struggling to breathe.

He may not have much longer if the fire brigade can't free him.

How long are we waiting for him?

Get up a little bit more, he's still pinned in underneath.

That jack is doing a little bit,

but underneath he's got the main chassis resting on him.

-Two minutes, we'll start to lift.

-No worries. Thank you.

Firefighters will use airbags to lift the caravan,

but they're having to take care.

They could easily cause John further injury

if the vehicle's not lifted evenly.

-Can we just cut through this?

-We need to cut this and slide him out.

Thanks to passersby with first aid skills,

and the first paramedic on scene, John still has a chance.

The accident has been distressing for those who saw it, too.

The caravan and the car started turning into the caravan site.

And then the motorbike came straight into the side of them.

And that was it.

That was all we saw and heard.

At last John is freed.

-Get him top to toe.

-John was wearing a good helmet,

but Leon fears he has still suffered a head injury.

Often the gravitational forces alone suffered in an accident

are enough to damage the brain, even if there's no external injury.

Open your eyes!

Hello, sir. Open your eyes.

Open your eyes.

Now the team can examine his injuries.

It's clear that his pelvis is broken.

I think he's got a femur as well, mate.

His pelvis. Probably his pelvis.

Leon's going to inject a new drug called TXA

directly into his bloodstream.

It helps blood to clot and extensive use on war wounds in Afghanistan

has proved it can be a life-saver.

I'm going to put TXA on this side here.

We'll get that on, mate.

Then we'll decompresses his chest. I can't hear on that left-hand side.

When John slid under the caravan,

his chest was crushed. It means one of his lungs has collapsed.

Pelvis is done, you're splinting that. Airway's controlled.

We'll chest decompress his left-hand side.

We're on second bag of fluids. He's had a litre. O2 is still on.

Second intercostal, above the third rib.

-Mid-clavicular.

-Leon will perform simple surgery here,

where he lies, to ease his breathing.

A large needle will allow fluid trapped inside John's lung

to escape, making it easier for him to breathe.

Tom.

What's clear is John is in desperate need

of immediate hospital treatment.

We're going right inside, do you see the stretcher?

It's Leon, Helimed 98?

We're going to be coming in, about five to ten minutes

with a 40-year-old male, involved in an RTC motorcyclist versus caravan.

We think he's got a pneumothorax to the left side of his chest,

that's been decompressed.

Pelvic fracture and a right femur.

We've got him immobilised, we've got an airway inflated,

we think he's got some breathing difficulties.

Possible fractured pelvis and leg. Cheers, guys.

Thanks so much for your help. Appreciate it.

Beverley, last call.

We have aircraft in the circuit.

No problem.

We have lifted and are en route from Beverley.

We'll land shortly.

It's just five minutes flying time from the accident scene

to Hull Royal Infirmary. John should be in A&E in just ten minutes.

But there's a problem.

There's still no crew on this detail.

I'll give the team leader a shout.

Stand-by.

Demand for ambulances is rising and a vehicle

hasn't yet become available to drive John from helipad to hospital.

Hi, guys, there's not a road crew here,

but we have got fire crews here, put him on the back of that.

The team, with the help of firefighters,

must improvise and there's no time to waste.

It's quite a busy day and the pressure's on the ambulance service.

Pretty huge when the weather's out like this.

Unfortunately, at Hull we've got a secondary landing site,

we have to get a lift round by a land crew.

So, we're going to utilise a fire engine.

And get him straight into A&E.

The next few hours will be critical.

John will be scanned and x-rayed

as consultants take up the battle to save his life.

And the outcome is far from certain.

For more than a month, John lies unconscious

in the intensive care unit of the Royal Infirmary.

His family are warned he may not recover.

For his wife, it's a difficult time.

I thought I'd lost him, I really did.

It was very emotionally up and down, all the time.

If he recovered from one thing, he's get something else wrong with him,

so he'd need another procedure.

But against the odds, John pulls through

and after extensive surgery, he's finally allowed home.

Are you feeling? All right.

I was hoping to maybe be walking by Christmas,

but there's no chance of that now.

Now they've started saying,

I'll probably have to have an operation on my knee,

because I have actually broke three of the ligaments

and now I am missing the spleen.

My pelvis is now all metal.

I didn't find out about all of this until later on.

I suppose he had age on his side, which is one thing.

The amount of injuries he's had,

he could have quite easily passed away that day, of the accident.

I have been told by many doctors and nurses

that he's very lucky to be here.

The biking days have now finished because of this accident,

because of all the internal wounds I have.

I can't afford another crash.

When the sun comes out, Yorkshire's farmers go to work.

Summer is short in the Dales and as soon as the grass is ready,

the haymaking starts.

It's an important preparation for a long winter to come.

Each bale, essential fodder to keep livestock alive.

But this is a dangerous time.

And today, Helimed 99,

carrying paramedics Lee Davison and Paul Kilner

has been scrambled to a farm near the market town of Wetherby.

-Ey up, mate, how you doing?

-I'm Neil.

-Nice to see you.

-This is Ian.

Ian was off-loading a bale and he came underneath the bale,

off the top of the tractor and it's fallen and hit him on the back.

Farmer Ian Westwood has been crushed by a one-tonne bale

that fell off a telescopic loader

being driven by his 18-year-old son, William.

We were just loading bales, and with it being a short space here,

I'd stopped and I have come to shunt it in and, I don't know,

the grab didn't have hold of the bale as tight...

I don't know why, really.

Ian, have you got any pain up here where I am feeling on your right leg?

No. Any pain down here?

Ian's badly hurt. He took the full weight of the falling bale.

It has broken his leg and his pelvis

and the team fears he has serious internal injuries.

It's the lower limbs on both sides we're concerned with,

left side, he's got a compound fracture on there.

The bone has actually come through the skin and he's got no pulse

in that left leg, we can't feel a pedal pulse.

Farming's still a family business.

Ian's sister, Rachel, was in the yard

when the accident happened. She's holding his head,

a vital precaution.

It's suspected her brother may also have a spinal injury.

He's complaining of tingling in his hands,

so that's why they've put a collar on him.

We've got this lady holding his head...

Farming is officially the UK's most dangerous occupation.

Only 2% of British workers earn their living

from agriculture, but they make up one in four deaths at work.

He's had some morphine, he's got some nasty lower leg fractures,

which are going to be very painful when we try to straighten them.

So, we're just giving him some entonox,

which is gas and air, but it doesn't seem to be helping him as such,

so we're drawing up some ketamine, which is a stronger analgesia.

I am concerned about the circulation in the lower legs,

so we need to get it straightened out as quickly as we can.

We need you to keep sucking on that and...

I know you're going to feel really dry-mouthed

and I can't do anything about that.

We need to try and get as much in as we possibly can.

We're going to give you some better painkiller, OK?

-Big deep breaths.

-Let it relax.

Straightening Ian's leg is painful, but vital.

Right, I'm supporting that now, if you want to Velcro it up.

A hospital doctor grooming her horse has come to help.

-And his left leg, he's a compound fracture.

-But he's got a pulse there.

The flight to Leeds General Infirmary ten miles away

will be a short one, but Lee and Paul are taking no chances.

Their patient may be conscious, but he's critically injured.

Ian knows he's leaving his farm at the busiest time of the year.

What he doesn't know

is that his rescuers fear his survival is in real doubt.

For several weeks, Ian is kept in intensive care.

Some of his injuries require plastic surgery

and harvest is a distant memory by the time he is fully fit

and ready to return to work.

On Yorkshire's wild coast, the Helimed team

is used to working with the UK's oldest emergency service.

Her Majesty's Coastguard has been patrolling these cliffs since 1822,

and many of the skills it relies on today,

would have been recognised by its first recruits.

These days they may race into action in 4 x 4s...

What we'll do now is pop this round the back of your back...

..but the detailed local knowledge these volunteers bring

can make the difference between life and death.

We're off to Withernsea on the coast.

A 16-year-old girl has fallen off the promenade onto the beach,

apparently it's quite a bad fall.

Her blood pressure is falling and she's got pain in her head

and it's suspected she may have broken her pelvis.

Kimberley Shaw was on her own when it happened.

And her mum was one of the first to find her.

She landed on the other side of that bar,

slipped on the sand and then she went down

and rolled all the way down. That's all I know.

Somebody heard a thud and then saw her at the bottom.

The Coastguard said if the helicopter

approaches the landing site,

from the seaward side, then it's just between two lamp posts,

it's no problem.

The ambulance could go to those red roof buildings.

Yeah, I think it's the same coming off the sea.

Andy's landing has been made easier by the part-time coastguards,

who raced here to help out.

I've got the lamp posts. There's nothing on the approach.

They're stopping on the footpath.

We were called to this 15-year-old girl

who'd apparently fallen down the promenade onto the beach

and we were called out to assist the ambulance,

so they've stabilised here and we've transported up here and landed.

16-year-old Kim has taken a tumble off the top here.

-Right down the slope.

-This is Kim.

-Hello, Kim.

-How are you doing?

-All right.

-How did you fall?

-Slipped.

I don't know. You need to be more careful, don't you?

The full circumstances, we've not ascertained yet,

we're more concerned with getting her back and out and fit and well.

Kimberley's in a lot of pain.

This printout will tell Graham everything her body's been doing

since the paramedics arrived.

It's vital information to be able to diagnose any internal injuries.

Is my mum coming in the helicopter with me? I'm not going on my own.

All right, just relax, all right.

All right, just relax.

Kim, we can take your mum with us, OK?

-So, just relax.

-Ready, steady, lift.

For Kimberley's mum, this is an anxious time.

-You've been waiting a while, haven't you?

-Yeah.

Not only is she having to watch her daughter in pain,

she's also having to prepare for her own

first ever flight in a helicopter.

Shelley, you might have to contort yourself around a little bit.

They're not the biggest of helicopters.

-Ever been an helicopter before?

-No.

OK, it's very loud, but the headsets mean you can speak to us.

All we ask, when we're taking off and landing, just keep quiet,

so the pilot can speak to air traffic and that kind of thing.

We're at Withernsea with this young girl, you've been told about,

we're about to lift from scene,

so we should be in the department in 15 or 20 minutes' time.

All her obs are stable, so I don't think there's much to worry about,

but we're taking her to Hull because of the mechanism

and to X-ray her pelvis and make sure nothing serious is going on.

There's only one way out of this spot.

Clear to the right.

Andy needs to reverse back out the way he came in.

Over the prom, over the beach

and staying well away from those two lamp posts.

-Weather's not great, is it?

-No. The bridge is...

This coast of Holderness is actually one of Yorkshire's most remote areas

when it comes to health care. Some recent statistics suggested

only 45% of 999 calls received a response within eight minutes here.

-The national target is 75%.

-You can just about see it on there.

But Kimberley couldn't be taken to hospital any faster.

She'll be at the trauma unit in Hull in just 10 minutes.

And we're down.

In the hospital, doctors discover

that Kimberley has avoided any serious injuries.

And despite her tumble down a sea wall,

she's able to return to school later the same week.