Palimpsest

The paramedics are up against it in another episode of the medical drama, as Dixie informs them they are severely short-staffed.

Jeff has just received divorce papers from his wife, and his deep-seated worry and anxiety about losing touch with his children stays with him throughout what proves to be an exhausting shift.

Polly and Jeff race from one emergency to another and are repeatedly called out to help a comatose drunk, followed by an explosion in a student's hall of residence, an elderly woman who has suffered a stroke, a man with multiple head injuries and a jogger who runs into a lamp-post.

For Polly, the shift is a steep learning curve. By the end of it, she realises she needs to keep a modicum of distance from her patients. But, despite her mistakes along the way, her fellow paramedics bond with her and recognise her warmth and humanity. They also reassure her and comfort her, following an incident that could put her life in danger.