Ambulance Catch up, Series 16: 4. Down the Ditch on BBC 1

Ambulance

Series 16: 4. Down the Ditch

Across rural Yorkshire, ambulance crews face a demanding start to the shift as multiple road traffic collisions unfold. Among them, Halifax crew Kanada and Chris help a farmer who has crashed into a dry-stone wall while on his way to feed his animals. Meanwhile, specialist paramedic Matt begins his shift in Sheffield, caring for another farmer who is experiencing memory loss after his vehicle overturned into a roadside ditch. It marks the start of a busy run of shifts for Matt, whose advanced skills mean he can treat a wide variety of conditions suffered by his patients – from road traffic accidents to supporting an elderly patient who is reaching the end of her life.\n\nFour hours into the shift, the team in control are grappling with an influx of emergency calls as demand on the service shows no signs of slowing. Crewmates Kanada and Chris are dispatched to Elland, near Leeds, to help a 64-year-old female who has tumbled off her mobility scooter and has already been waiting over 30 minutes for an ambulance. The crew arrive to find the patient surrounded by a crowd who have all stopped to help. Fortunately, aside from a bruised eye, the patient has avoided any major injuries. The crew decides it is safe to drop her off at home, where a freshly brewed cup of tea awaits.\n\nIn Halifax, Siobhan and Ellie are dispatched to their sixth patient of the shift – a 91-year-old male coughing up phlegm. On arrival, it is clear the patient is very poorly and nearing the end of his life. After speaking with the nursing team and making him as comfortable as possible, the crew decide they can respect his wishes and keep him at home.\n\nAt the start of a new day for Yorkshire Ambulance Service, call volumes are at a normal level. Heading up the critical care team is Matt. He is dispatched to a 96-year-old end-of-life patient who has fallen out of bed. After Matt and the team get the patient up off the floor, he supports the family, sharing his own experience of caring for his father and the lesson he learned about how important it was to take care of himself through the process.\n\nWith the afternoon in full swing, Halifax crew Siobhan and Ellie are dispatched to a Category 2 COPD patient with low sats. After carrying out their assessments, Siobhan is concerned that the patient might be suffering from a mini-stroke and advises a trip to hospital to be on the safe side. She later shares how the job felt particularly close to home, as her own father suffered from a stroke just a week previously.\n\nMeanwhile, Kanada and Chris are diverted to a Category 1 patient with breathing difficulties – it turns out he is the same end-of-life patient Siobhan and Ellie attended the previous day. On scene this time, it is clear the patient’s symptoms have worsened, and the crew agree it is in his best interests to receive further investigations at hospital even though he had expressly stated he wanted to be left to die at home.\n\nAs the shift draws to a close, critical care paramedic Matt is dispatched to another end-of-life patient in severe pain. Matt’s advanced skills mean he can provide enhanced pain relief at home, so there is no need for the patient to travel to hospital.\n\nThis episode highlights the emotional and professional challenges faced by Yorkshire’s ambulance crews as they balance urgent emergencies with compassionate end-of-life care. Showing paramedics not just as medical responders to patients but as sources of comfort, empathy and strength, when families are in their most vulnerable moments. It becomes clear how deeply their work intertwines with their own lives and personal experiences to influence the care they give, day in and day out.

Source: BBC 1

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