'You guys aren’t paid enough to take this cr**': BBC Ambulance viewers left furious at scenes
14.03.2024 - 13:13
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Viewers of BBC One’s Ambulance were left raging after the show aired an interaction between paramedics and a man who made them feel in danger of being physically attacked.
The hit documentary series follows crews from the North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) and their emergency call handlers responding to and attending a number of serious incidents; delving into the challenging situations and pressures that the service faces every day.
On Wednesday night’s episode, broadcast on March 13, the service was bracing itself for a surge in calls on Easter Monday morning, following the Easter weekend. It was expected that more than 6,000 referral services across the north west would be closed for the bank holiday, and there were 35 per cent more people waiting for an ambulance than the morning before.
READ MORE: 'Is the patient breathing?' The faceless voices that are the difference between life and death
A clip was played showing ambulance service dispatchers sending responders out on the road to a 42-year-old man. A 999 call was played with a man being heard saying: “The guy lives above my shop. He said the guy in his flat is very shaking. His name is Robert and he can’t speak proper English [sic].
“He said he can’t walk. I know he was in hospital before, he wasn’t well.”
Help was sent urgently as the ambulance service couldn’t establish what was happening to him, classing it as a category one emergency – the most critical level. “It’s just gone through as shaking, so I think he’s having a fit,” the dispatcher told the rapid responder, in a car on the way to the scene on his own.
“Possible language barrier. There is an ambulance running as well backing you up, and I’ll keep you updated if we get anything further.”
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