Episode 4

Documentary series following the Scottish Ambulance Service. Serving a population of over five million from remote islands to busy cities, the paramedics are first on scene at medical emergencies right across the country.

In this episode we follow divisional ambulance crews in Paisley, Aberdeen and Edinburgh and the special operations response team, who deal with the most serious calls. We also see how the air ambulance based in Glasgow provides a unique service transferring patients from the Hebrides to and from hospital.

In Paisley, ambulance crew Gary and Stephen are called to help a patient with a rare autoimmune disease who has lost mobility. In Edinburgh, Moira and Blair treat a young man with severe abdominal pain, while in the Borders, crews from the special operations team have to work out how to access a patient with a suspected broken leg who is stuck halfway up a steep hill. And they are called to a serious car crash outside Edinburgh.

In Aberdeen, paramedics Ewan and Alan give emergency treatment to a lady whose heartbeat is dangerously fast and rush her to hospital. And another Aberdeen crew on night shift searches for a woman who is reportedly drunk or confused and who is at risk of hypothermia. In the skies above Scotland, the air ambulance transfers a patient from his home on Lewis to Glasgow for hospital treatment.