:00:10. > :00:15.We are in Leicester on the front line with the Ambulance Service.
:00:15. > :00:18.Tonight: There is a month left to have your say about how our
:00:18. > :00:24.ambulance service should change and not everyone is happy. The one
:00:24. > :00:29.thing we are not prepared to have here is a second-class ambulance
:00:29. > :00:34.service. That is what this proposal is about. So how do ambulance crews
:00:34. > :00:40.cope with the pressure to get to each emergency? With traffic, rush-
:00:40. > :00:46.hour, eight minutes is such a tight time-frame especially with the city
:00:46. > :00:52.centre traffic. The house where jacket - the story of the youngest
:00:52. > :01:02.person to receive the George Cross. I am pleased I have come back. It
:01:02. > :01:15.
:01:15. > :01:19.brings back a lot of memories. They East Midlands Ambulance Service has
:01:19. > :01:23.the worst record for response times in the country but plans to shake
:01:23. > :01:28.things up and shake off that reputation are controversial.
:01:28. > :01:34.Managers insist the changes have to happen if they are to reach
:01:34. > :01:43.patients vast air but tonight in a special report, we investigate
:01:43. > :01:51.where paramedics and patients who need them are filling the most.
:01:51. > :02:01.Every 45 seconds there is a call to take. Often a life or death
:02:01. > :02:08.
:02:08. > :02:13.decision to make. Welcome to the 999 frontline. With tough targets
:02:13. > :02:20.for the time it takes an ambulance to get to you and tough fines for
:02:20. > :02:24.the service if they earn it. The clock starts ticking at the moment
:02:24. > :02:34.you get through to the ambulance control and it doesn't stop until
:02:34. > :02:41.
:02:41. > :02:49.the paramedic comes through your front door. It is 7 am on a Friday
:02:49. > :02:52.and we are trucking in with paramedics Dylan and 10. It is
:02:52. > :03:00.surprising perhaps to find them having to take care of their
:03:00. > :03:04.ambulance before they can look after patients. Every morning we
:03:04. > :03:09.spend 10 or 15 minutes going through all the kit, making sure we
:03:09. > :03:14.have everything we need for the day. We have to do all the daily checks
:03:14. > :03:17.to make sure the road for the Czechs are done. I thought it was
:03:17. > :03:22.all about patient care but we have to make sure the vehicle is safe to
:03:22. > :03:31.get us there. Meanwhile, the calls are stacking up in control. The
:03:31. > :03:37.team here are in effect, first on the scene. A call taker would ask
:03:37. > :03:41.the person what is the nature of the emergency. The call to go with
:03:41. > :03:51.him but the address and we would know where to respond to. In fact,
:03:51. > :03:52.
:03:52. > :04:02.here we go... We have a job, guys. We are going to somebody who has a
:04:02. > :04:02.
:04:02. > :04:06.rapid heart rate that is feeling unwell. The elderly patient lives
:04:06. > :04:16.alone and is quite frightened, complaining of dizziness and a
:04:16. > :04:20.
:04:20. > :04:24.pounding chest. Let's put you on this manager. They are happy she
:04:24. > :04:33.doesn't need to go to hospital but a gentle touch and plenty of
:04:33. > :04:36.reassurance has been needed. Years ago, people only used to render it
:04:36. > :04:44.was life-threatening but more now, you're getting more social care
:04:44. > :04:48.calls. It has taken the two men have an hour to get back in play.
:04:48. > :04:55.That is a relief to control, where they are juddering to a good and 50
:04:55. > :05:05.frontline vehicles at any one time. The East Midlands ambulance service
:05:05. > :05:10.has the worst response time record in the country. The government has
:05:10. > :05:18.set to strict targets for how long an ambulance should take Jimmy Choo
:05:18. > :05:22.in an emergency. Trusts are fined if they miss them. The first
:05:22. > :05:27.response must get to 75% of category A emergencies within eight
:05:27. > :05:31.minutes and for the first time in three years, they have squeaked
:05:31. > :05:34.over the line, largely thanks to a fast response of paramedics but the
:05:35. > :05:38.clock is still ticking because they cannot get the patients to hospital
:05:38. > :05:42.and so there is a second target because an ambulance give up a lot
:05:42. > :05:52.to gain patients to hospital must arrive within 19 minutes and that
:05:52. > :05:53.
:05:53. > :05:57.is where East Midlands has been falling short. Phil Milligan wants
:05:57. > :06:01.to turn things around. After 11 months in charge, he is proposing
:06:02. > :06:07.one of the service's most radical shake-ups. He wants to sell off
:06:07. > :06:10.most of his ambulance stations. They would be replaced by
:06:10. > :06:14.superstitions where paramedics will not have to check there oil every
:06:14. > :06:19.morning and better resourced stand. -- standby points where they can
:06:19. > :06:24.wait for calls. The focus for the change programme is not money, it
:06:24. > :06:28.is getting to patients faster so they get the right treatment faster.
:06:28. > :06:31.That is what the focus is and that is the board's main objective
:06:31. > :06:37.behind this programme. Our initial assessment is that the cost of
:06:37. > :06:44.these buildings is �29 million and the cost of replacing them with the
:06:44. > :06:52.community and villains posts is about �28.5 million. Save our
:06:52. > :07:02.services. Not everyone is convinced. This march against the closure plan.
:07:02. > :07:07.The message was loud and clear. you all hear me? People are worried
:07:07. > :07:11.that the nearest station would be 18 miles away in Mansfield. The
:07:11. > :07:16.protest is painfully personal first there. She was looking forward to
:07:16. > :07:23.pushing a double buggy but in May, her unborn baby died at 30 weeks.
:07:23. > :07:28.She blames a long wait for an ambulance. We were thinking, should
:07:28. > :07:31.be get in the car or not. We were waiting so long and we thought,
:07:31. > :07:38.when is this ambulance going to arrive? When it did arrive, was it
:07:38. > :07:45.too late? Yes, by the Tamika to the hospital, no heartbeat. There are
:07:45. > :07:48.no words to describe how horrible lattice. No one can say the
:07:48. > :07:54.speedier response could have saved her baby but her fears are shared
:07:54. > :07:59.by plenty of people. Particularly in rural areas. The one thing they
:07:59. > :08:06.are not prepared to have in battle is a second class Ambulance Service
:08:06. > :08:09.and that is what this proposal is about. They have served us in the
:08:09. > :08:13.community for years and years and they want to disrupt it to save
:08:13. > :08:23.money, not to save lives and that is what we're here for. How can an
:08:23. > :08:29.area as big as this be covered by a people going to faraway places.
:08:29. > :08:34.Lives will be lost because of it. There's also disquiet from within
:08:34. > :08:38.the service. And it is a fast response paramedic and a steward.
:08:38. > :08:45.She organised the march is in north Nottinghamshire which were also
:08:45. > :08:47.supported by the GMB union. It is commonplace for all community
:08:47. > :08:52.paramedics and emergency care practitioners are to be waiting to
:08:52. > :08:56.a three hours for that second resource. It is not all the time
:08:56. > :09:04.but these crews are tied up in jobs and we're having to wait for them
:09:04. > :09:08.to come back and take patients to hospital. In contrast to the
:09:08. > :09:13.control room which buzzes with 1600 calls a day, many ambulance
:09:13. > :09:22.stations are empty for most of it. Any time gaps between jobs are
:09:22. > :09:27.usually filled sitting in lay-bys. We are about to go on standby now.
:09:27. > :09:35.He is in the centre of Leicester. It is a bus lay-by and there is
:09:35. > :09:44.nothing there for us. The standby posts are used to jiggly moved
:09:44. > :09:48.paramedics closer to where people hour at different times of the day.
:09:48. > :09:53.Planned improvements to the service are one thing but sometimes there
:09:53. > :09:57.are elements conspiring that are beyond their control. Eight minutes
:09:58. > :10:03.is such a tight time frame. Especially in a city-centre
:10:03. > :10:09.environment with traffic, rush-hour. This is how the service looks at
:10:09. > :10:14.the moment. 66 ambulance stations serving six counties. Many have
:10:14. > :10:20.served their local communities for decades. This is Phil Milligan's
:10:20. > :10:26.big idea, to sell off most of the old stations to pay for 13 new big
:10:26. > :10:31.central hubs, supplemented by 131 community ambulance posts and
:10:31. > :10:38.strategic standby points. This is what I used to respond when I am on
:10:38. > :10:42.call. This lady is on the town council and on call as a volunteer
:10:42. > :10:47.community are first responder. The life-saving kit in her but is for
:10:47. > :10:52.local emergencies like heart attacks and strokes. This is a real
:10:52. > :10:55.life-saver? Absolutely, this is what saves people's lives. If we
:10:55. > :11:01.are there on time. It is a deep good relations machine which we're
:11:01. > :11:06.trained to use. Ambulance trusts around the country have teamed up
:11:06. > :11:11.with son John Sandilands to train people and the former Mayor of
:11:11. > :11:16.Bradford is busier than ever. I first started, you get one: Six
:11:16. > :11:21.hours. Now in six hours we could get up to 10 goals and what puts a
:11:21. > :11:25.concern on me is in a solo community, we don't have the safety
:11:25. > :11:30.equipment of a paramedic, we don't have a radio that we can call for
:11:30. > :11:34.help if we are a difficult situation. All we have is our own
:11:34. > :11:41.phone. If you get into any situation, we would have to get a
:11:41. > :11:44.phone to call control. He had been in a situation? I was attacked at
:11:44. > :11:48.nine months ago. The ideal for people in your position is to be an
:11:48. > :11:52.addition to the service but do you feel and a sense that because you
:11:52. > :11:58.are very good at what you do, effectively you are being used to
:11:58. > :12:01.supplement the service? I care for people and that is why I do it.
:12:01. > :12:06.Sometimes families get aggressive - where is the ambulance, where is
:12:06. > :12:10.it? I try to say to the family member, I am sorry but they are on
:12:10. > :12:15.their way. It is putting us in situations where we can get abused
:12:15. > :12:19.by family members and it is quite embarrassing after an hour and 15
:12:19. > :12:29.minutes and they are saying, where is this ambulance? What you say to
:12:29. > :12:29.
:12:29. > :12:35.them? It is honest way sometimes not enough. In Leicestershire's
:12:35. > :12:39.picturesque village, this family's experience was far from pretty.
:12:39. > :12:43.Four year-old Flynn suffered from what doctors now believe was an
:12:44. > :12:52.epileptic seizure. Frantic with their son unresponsive and foaming
:12:52. > :12:56.at the mouth, they dialled 999. was a wreck, I couldn't bear to be
:12:56. > :13:06.in a room with him. I honestly thought we were going to lose him.
:13:06. > :13:11.The paramedic was panicking. From the initial phone call, it was
:13:11. > :13:15.three hours before a friend arrived in hospital in an ambulance.
:13:15. > :13:20.needed to be in an HND or resuscitation room immediately and
:13:20. > :13:25.he wasn't there for hours. It is not good enough. You certainly
:13:25. > :13:35.don't expect it when you dial 999. Back in Leicester, another child is
:13:35. > :13:35.
:13:35. > :13:44.in trouble. What is the address? You need to come down, what is the
:13:44. > :13:50.postcode? I don't even know the postcode. One female, severe
:13:50. > :14:00.breathing difficulty, turning blue. My daughter is only five weeks old
:14:00. > :14:00.
:14:00. > :14:10.and she has vomited and she cannot breed. -- breeze. I have help
:14:10. > :14:17.
:14:17. > :14:25.coming to you, stay on the line to get more information. She went blue
:14:25. > :14:35.and I was smacking her on the back. How long she not breathing for?
:14:35. > :14:42.
:14:42. > :14:49.few seconds. What was going through your mind when you're waiting for
:14:49. > :14:55.the ambulance? As soon as she was breathing, I wanted someone to
:14:55. > :14:59.reassure me that she was OK. Born six weeks prematurely, she needs
:14:59. > :15:03.checking over in hospital. It has been a scare for her mum but the
:15:03. > :15:13.paramedics are confident this is a simple case of choking on her milk.
:15:13. > :15:14.
:15:14. > :15:19.The threat of so many ambulance The boss says he is listening and
:15:19. > :15:22.we decided to put people's questions directly to him. His
:15:22. > :15:27.first one is from one of your community first responders, a
:15:27. > :15:33.volunteer. I would like to ask if he is in touch with what is
:15:33. > :15:40.actually going on? He is not frontline. Is he aware about rural
:15:40. > :15:44.areas which have to be covered? His proposal is going to cost lives.
:15:44. > :15:48.don't agree that this will cost lives. I have been out on
:15:48. > :15:53.ambulances with crews. I spent New Year's Eve in Derby city centre so
:15:53. > :15:56.why am well aware of the programme that the offering and that it is
:15:56. > :16:02.based on feedback from our staff saying what they need to improve.
:16:02. > :16:07.We've made improvements already. We are now achieving the National
:16:07. > :16:12.eight-minute target. That is better than last year. We are maintaining
:16:12. > :16:19.that improvement. We want to do even better than that. A OK. This
:16:19. > :16:24.next question is from one of your fast response drivers. I ask that
:16:24. > :16:27.Mr Milligan and listens to the public during this consultation
:16:27. > :16:33.period and understands how the service is going to operate in
:16:33. > :16:37.rural areas and perhaps re-evaluate his plans. Consultation is about
:16:37. > :16:42.listening to others and seeking advice. Our plans, I think, on a
:16:42. > :16:45.very good for -- model. We are looking at how we should amend them
:16:45. > :16:51.to take account of the unique features of the different parts of
:16:51. > :16:54.the East Midlands, such as rural areas, Lincolnshire and so on. I
:16:54. > :16:58.have said repeatedly, on the basis of advice from the public and our
:16:58. > :17:02.staff, we are prepared to change the plans. We want to get it right
:17:02. > :17:07.because patients deserve it. I want to stop spending money on empty
:17:07. > :17:14.buildings. Alarmed and buildings are empty pretty much all day every
:17:14. > :17:17.day. -- hour ambulance buildings. We can share buildings which must
:17:17. > :17:22.be good for the public purse. while managers ponder the future,
:17:22. > :17:29.on the road it is all about the next call. They are highly trained
:17:29. > :17:35.and calm under pressure but the job can take its toll. A little old
:17:35. > :17:45.lady had died at the sink. She had nobody near by and you just
:17:45. > :17:46.
:17:46. > :17:49.It has a big weakness, staff sickness levels which are the
:17:49. > :17:58.highest in the country. And two stations offer little support at
:17:58. > :18:02.the end of a traumatic day. -- empty stations. East Midlands
:18:02. > :18:04.Ambulance Service has been called the worst in England. We already
:18:04. > :18:09.making improvements and doing better than we have of for a long
:18:09. > :18:13.while. We want to build on that and be the best. One of the things I've
:18:13. > :18:18.been able to do in the last 11 months as go to other ambulance
:18:18. > :18:22.services, see what they are doing well, steal their ideas and look to
:18:22. > :18:29.how we can bring them into the East Midlands. This shift is not over
:18:30. > :18:39.yet. Tell me what has happened. Somebody has been hit by a taxi.
:18:40. > :18:47.
:18:47. > :18:57.she awake? Yes, she is. Is she breathing? Yes. Go-ahead. We are
:18:57. > :19:21.
:19:21. > :19:27.still taking details. It was a car Hello. Explain to me what has been
:19:27. > :19:33.happening... I cannot find a breeding source on the scalp.
:19:33. > :19:43.going to hold your head for a second. This chap is a GP for stop
:19:43. > :19:43.
:19:44. > :19:53.OK. We have got you. Lie back. Let's all slide. I know it is
:19:54. > :19:55.
:19:55. > :20:05.difficult with a car being here. Do you have any pain? No. Of we ready,
:20:05. > :20:06.
:20:06. > :20:10.guys? Ready, steady, slide. injured cyclist suffered a nasty
:20:10. > :20:14.knock on the ankle with a bump to the head but was back on her feet
:20:14. > :20:19.in a few days. It has been a good day for our crew, who got to every
:20:19. > :20:27.job on time, much to the relief of their patients. But Dylan and Tim
:20:27. > :20:31.would also like to be judged on the care they give.
:20:31. > :20:35.The challenges and changes facing the East Midlands ambulance service
:20:35. > :20:40.are greater than any in its history and managers are adamant that it
:20:40. > :20:43.needs to modernise in order to move forward. There are still plenty of
:20:43. > :20:48.people to convince among their Rome's staff and the communities
:20:48. > :20:52.they serve, but not responding to the long-term challenge of turning
:20:52. > :21:02.the worst performing ambulance service into the best is not an
:21:02. > :21:07.
:21:07. > :21:16.There is still time for you to have your say on this consultation. All
:21:16. > :21:20.Next it tonight, the story of a miner who 60 years ago, became the
:21:20. > :21:24.youngest person to receive the George Cross, the country's highest
:21:24. > :21:33.civilian award for bravery. Jack was only 15 when he saved the lives
:21:33. > :21:37.of his brothers, when fire engulfed The when the Queen comes to town,
:21:37. > :21:43.the crowds gather. From the start of her reign, there have been
:21:43. > :21:50.cameras there to document every event. But many of the stories of
:21:50. > :21:56.royal encounters lie behind the lens. If you get the chance to meet
:21:56. > :21:59.the Queen -- a few. But a 15 year- old from Nottingham Show was
:21:59. > :22:06.invited to what -- Buckingham Palace for a royal audience almost
:22:06. > :22:12.60 years ago. In 1932, Jack Bamford was a well-known hero. He risked
:22:12. > :22:17.his life to save his brothers from their burning home. That is the
:22:17. > :22:27.George Cross. It six years on, he is still the youngest to get the
:22:27. > :22:27.
:22:27. > :22:32.George Cross. -- 60 years on. Initially, he won not in the room
:22:32. > :22:37.and they call your name out. Then you walk in to see the Queen. You
:22:37. > :22:41.bow, she has a conversation. Chippings it on to your chest or
:22:41. > :22:51.whatever. Then you go and sit with the rest of the audience and you
:22:51. > :22:53.
:22:53. > :22:56.can watch everybody else go through It has certainly altered. He even
:22:56. > :23:02.though he only lives a few miles away, this is the first time Jack
:23:02. > :23:07.has been back to his old family home to see the Windo he threw his
:23:07. > :23:14.brothers from into their father's arms, the Windo he fell from --
:23:14. > :23:18.window. It was about 2 o'clock on a Sunday morning and the fire was in
:23:18. > :23:23.the living room, underneath that bedroom. I through Roy at first
:23:23. > :23:32.because I got him in between the knees. I turned around for Brian.
:23:32. > :23:42.He had got back in bed. I'm sorry, it's... Is it the first time I've
:23:42. > :23:45.
:23:45. > :23:55.been back here. -- it is. I am pleased I've come back. I am. It
:23:55. > :24:08.
:24:08. > :24:13.brings a lot of memories back. They For George course that Jack has at
:24:13. > :24:17.home is a replica. He has learned the real thing to the Imperial War
:24:17. > :24:23.Museum, where everyone can see in a gallery designed to tell forgotten
:24:23. > :24:29.stories of bravery. Have you been unseen it seems we've put in?
:24:29. > :24:33.not in this particular situation. We have put it near the two
:24:33. > :24:36.policemen and Robert Taylor, because there is a group of
:24:36. > :24:41.similarly and short courses. We thought it was a nice place. It is
:24:41. > :24:49.rather impressive. It looks very nice colour particularly said...
:24:49. > :24:53.that we there? -- me. People thought this is an amazing thing
:24:53. > :24:57.for this 15 year-old to do. With the intensity of the fire, the fact
:24:57. > :25:01.he went into war three times to look for his brothers, take them to
:25:01. > :25:05.the Windo, go back again, each of these in false Jack each time
:25:05. > :25:08.thinking, I want to do this, and got to find my brothers, and
:25:08. > :25:17.committed to this action. That is exactly what the George Cross
:25:17. > :25:24.recognises. Setting aside the risk to your own life in order to feel -
:25:24. > :25:28.- do what you feel as the right thing at the time. Here, Jacques
:25:28. > :25:38.middle sits alongside other recipients data about the Crimean
:25:38. > :25:43.War. -- Jack's. It is the ultimate gift of thanks from the Queen to
:25:43. > :25:49.the recipient. That is why it carries such weight. As a nation,
:25:49. > :25:54.we of remembering his bravery, through the Imperial War Museum.
:25:54. > :25:59.Now, we have uncovered two wheels of forgotten film which had lain in
:25:59. > :26:05.the BBC archives for the 60 years. The first shows Jack in Nottingham
:26:05. > :26:10.General Hospital. He didn't know the footage existed. I have not
:26:10. > :26:20.seen this. Jack, whilst you're having a photograph taken this
:26:20. > :26:21.
:26:21. > :26:24.afternoon, you have been awarded the George Cross... The fire
:26:24. > :26:29.occurred in October. John helped his father to rescue three other
:26:29. > :26:37.children and his mother. He then returned to save six year-old Brian
:26:37. > :26:47.and for year-old Roy. Brian and Roy Andrade. He threw them out the
:26:47. > :26:50.
:26:50. > :26:57.winter. -- window. Brian it ran across the road because he was
:26:57. > :27:02.frightened. It is upsetting really.! He says, are they all out?
:27:02. > :27:07.He said yes and then he passed out.?. John received extensive
:27:07. > :27:11.burns. He has already undergone two skin grafting operations. If it
:27:11. > :27:16.wasn't for Jack, I wouldn't have been here. I've got a family, have
:27:16. > :27:25.got children, and got a grant children. I would not have had any
:27:25. > :27:35.of it if it was not for Jack. It was lovely to see my mother.
:27:35. > :27:36.
:27:36. > :27:46.And there is film also of Jack at Buckingham Palace, the day he met
:27:46. > :27:49.
:27:49. > :27:54.the Queen to receive his George I was still under hospital
:27:54. > :27:57.treatment but they allowed me to go down to earth he Buckingham Palace
:27:57. > :28:06.with the nurses from hospital. If it hadn't been for them, I would be
:28:06. > :28:16.dead anyway. If it was me who had the George Cross, I wouldn't be
:28:16. > :28:17.
:28:17. > :28:21.walking around with it on my chest but I would let people know! Never
:28:21. > :28:31.ever profited from it, ever. Some people would say he was a full for
:28:31. > :28:32.
:28:32. > :28:36.not doing it. It has not been my But Jack Bamford, still the
:28:36. > :28:42.youngest person to be awarded the George Cross. We will be back with
:28:42. > :28:46.more stories from across the East Midlands next month they. -- Monday.