Tewkesbury, 11 pm. A motorist calls 999 after spotting a car stuck in a ditch. A man is trapped inside, slumped against the door and bleeding from his head. It's a time-critical emergency, and Critical Care Paramedics Will Meadows and Kerry Hemus are immediately dispatched, finding Rob, 38, conscious, but unable to move his legs. Fearing he may have suffered a serious spinal injury, Kerry and Mark need to get Rob out of the car as quickly as possible. but any sudden movement now could lead to paralysis.
One hundred miles away in Shropshire, 43-year-old Dean calls 999 in agony after accidentally cutting his leg with an angle grinder while chopping down a tree. He's losing blood rapidly, and needs immediate assistance, but he's in a hard-to-reach rural location. It's a potentially life-threatening situation, so a helimed is immediately scrambled. When Critical Care Paramedic Will and Dr Ali Husain reach the scene, they find Dean has a large cut down to the bone, and muscle has been exposed. And worse, the wound is dangerously close to a major artery. Now they have to work quickly and carefully to treat Dean's leg, without the artery bursting, causing catastrophic damage.
Over in Northampton, 80-year-old Margaret has fallen down the stairs at home and is struggling to breathe. Every year almost 700 people lose their lives due to a fall down the stairs and critical care paramedic Jenny Mealey and Dr Joe Tyler race to the scene. Signs indicate that Margaret may have a punctured lung, which could be fatal if left untreated.
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