The Last Holiday

Tracey and Lauren are crewing one of five ambulances covering the coastal towns of Scarborough and Whitby over a busy bank holiday weekend. Holidaymakers and residents are out in force, visiting the popular seaside hotspots along Yorkshire’s east coast in order to mark the end of winter.

A call is received for Jean, who has fallen while staying in her caravan holiday home. On arrival, Jean’s husband of 62 years tells Tracey and Lauren that she has received a cancer diagnosis and is nearing the end of her life. Alan is wracked with guilt because, despite how unwell she is, he had taken her to the caravan from their home in Barnsley for what might be her last visit. Alan speaks candidly about the toll Jean’s illness has taken on him and how he is overwhelmed by the responsibilities of caring. As the crew spend time with the couple, they come to understand that their marriage has stood the test of time thanks to a deep and unwavering love for one another.

In ambulance control, one call handler is trying to arrange help for a man who has had an accident whilst working, while another is dealing with a 999 call from the daughter of an elderly woman who is choking in the remote village of Sinnington.

The choking call demands a Category 1 response, as it is the most life-threatening, with a target response time of seven minutes, but as dispatcher Tracy scours the patch for the closest ambulance, she discovers the nearest available resource is Curtis and James, who are at least a 35-minute drive away.

As they begin their drive on blue lights, 45 miles away in Hull, another Category 1 call is unfolding. This time, the call is for a traffic warden who has been attacked while working. Gretel and Alisha arrive to find the victim is still unconscious. They immediately call for a critical care resource to join them as they work to stabilise his condition. Once critical care paramedic Chavon arrives to support the crew, it is decided that his head injury means they will need to take him by ambulance to hospital for further assessment and specialist treatment.

Curtis and James finally arrive on scene to 91-year-old Christina, who they are relieved to find is no longer choking. The crew carry out their checks while her daughter Lucinda opens up about the recent decline in her mother’s health. Following a phone call with an out-of-hours doctor, the crew gently explain that although Christina may be nearing the end of her life, she will be better off staying at home.

Tracy is once again searching for a crew, this time to help a woman who has fallen from a horse and has already been waiting an hour and 20 minutes. As she reflects on how demand for ambulances has increased since she joined the service 30 years ago, Curtis and James become available. They are dispatched to the patient, Lucy, who is lying in the horse arena in pain with a suspected collarbone injury. After administering pain relief, the crew take her to Scarborough Hospital for further treatment.

With no crews available along the whole of the coast, patient waiting times continue to rise. Tracy reflects on the personal impact of these delays, recalling how her own family was affected when her grandfather collapsed at home and later passed away while waiting for an ambulance.

After clearing at the local hospital, Tracey and Lauren are dispatched 19 miles away to help Barbara, who is showing signs of a suspected stroke. En route, another stroke call comes in from Bridlington. Curtis and James are sent to respond, leaving Scarborough temporarily without any ambulance cover at all.

On scene at the first suspected stroke call, Barbara is unconvinced by the fuss. She doesn’t believe she is having a stroke, despite her face visibly drooping. With some gentle encouragement from her family, Tracey and Lauren finally persuade her to go to hospital.

In Bridlington, the influx of tourists makes it difficult for Curtis and James to locate their patient. After searching the seafront, crowded with amusements and attractions, they eventually find Brian near the slot machines, surrounded by his wife and other concerned holidaymakers. After hearing the events that led to Brian feeling dizzy, the crew take him into the ambulance for privacy and carry out their checks. Once in the ambulance, Brian’s symptoms begin to improve, so Curtis and James decide to take him and his wife to their hotel, where they can rest before enjoying the remainder of their holiday.

This episode demonstrates the challenges of delivering emergency care to rural and remote seaside communities, where the vast scale of the Yorkshire landscape can leave gaps in ambulance cover, and reveals how the realities of living in some of the most cherished tourist attractions can be very different from the nostalgic picture so often painted of the area.