Catch up TV

Series 7: Episode 5

The North West Ambulance Service are struggling with a spike in staff sickness from Covid-19, which is making it hard to meet the demand for 999 responses. A decision is made to ask for military personnel to help, with military recruits put through three days of intensive training before they can join the paramedics working on the front line. Once training is complete, they will be able to respond to lower-category calls, which account for 20 per cent of the service's workload, freeing up ambulances for more critical calls.\n\nThe service has also drafted in agency staff to work as call handlers. One of them is new recruit Imran, who lost his job working for an airline during the first lockdown. Imran’s Friday night starts with him calmly dealing with the consequences of a stabbing, after which a call about a patient who is having trouble breathing puts Imran's training to the test. \n\nDespite the pandemic, many in the city are thinking of the approaching Valentine’s Day. Jack and Deeq are sent to a category three patient who is struggling at home. After some gentle banter with his wife about the secret of the couple's success, the crew decide a short trip to hospital is needed, but luckily the patient is reunited with his wife before the shift draws to a close.\n\nThe dawn of the day shift sees the military personnel fully trained and ready to take up their roles on the front line. Sanjay, a private in the Army’s Royal Logistics Corp, will be with crewmate Dom for the next 12 hours. It is not long before they are dispatched to their first job, a patient who is struggling with blood loss. Meanwhile, Imran tries to help a panicking 999 caller who refuses to accept his advice.

Source: BBC 1