999: On the Front Line

Paramedics in the South West treat a 95-year-old who's fallen and injured his face

A woman explaining her chest pains to the paramedics suddenly goes into cardiac arrest. Paramedics also deal with a man who has collapsed in a pool of his own vomit and a woman who has been waiting for an ambulance for seven hours and may have broken her hip. A young boy has the tell-tale signs of croup, and a young man suffers an allergic reaction after drinking an alcoholic chilli shot.

The South Western paramedics treat a man who suffered a stroke, only to fall down a flight of stairs and hit his head. A dog walk in the park ends with a fall and a possible broken hip for one patient, a boy is struggling to breathe and a man with chest pains is trying to hold on to his independence.

A man's heart has stopped beating, not once but twice. The paramedics manage to bring him back to life before rushing him to resus. A patient needs an emergency stop to empty her bladder, a man can't get out of his armchair and has severe pain in his knee, and a patient has extreme fatigue and abdominal pain.

A young man is having a seizure. He's no stranger to fits, averaging three a week. A young woman is complaining of dizziness and right-sided weakness. Her hand is shaky and her speech is slightly slurred. A former nurse is now the patient as she lives with extreme dizziness and today cannot sit up, while a pregnant woman has chest pains.

Paramedics treat a woman who's fallen over and can't get up. But the real problem is her relationship with alcohol, which has blighted her life for 20 years. A man has collapsed in the street, and another man has been found by police with injuries to his face and blood spurting from his arm. A woman has slurred speech and a droop to her face. The paramedics are concerned she may be having a stroke.