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The North West Ambulance Service are alerted to a possible outbreak of the highly infectious Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) at Fairfield General Hospital. Senior paramedic Claire is dispatched to liaise between the hospital and the ambulance service, while the hazardous area response team prepare to transport the patient to North Manchester General Hospital’s infectious disease unit.

It's Wednesday night, and in the control centre, a backlog is building and 62 category three calls have been waiting for more than two hours for an ambulance, twice the target response time. In Oldham, crewmates Safyan and Haleema are dispatched to a category two patient who is struggling to breathe. On arrival, the crew learn the patient recently broke his leg, which has meant he’s currently unable to work and is now struggling with the increased cost of living.

In control, the service receives a new 999 call every 28 seconds. Call handler Molly takes a distressing call for a 91-year-old female stuck on the floor. Due to delays, the patient could end up having to wait up to four hours for help.

An emergency call is received for a road traffic collision involving a car that has rolled off the road. Advanced paramedic Matt is immediately dispatched. The patient has sustained an open wrist fracture, requiring Matt to deliver pain management at the side of the carriageway.

As the only available crew in Oldham and Rochdale, Abi and Sophie are dispatched to an 83-year-old female patient with chest pain. The patient needs a trip to hospital for further investigations, but when they arrive, the crew find the hospital is full. After a two-and-a-half-hour wait, they can finally take their patient in to be seen by doctors. In Bury, further delays are experienced by a 77-year-old patient who has been waiting seven hours for an ambulance. Crewmates Nathan and Hannah are finally dispatched to help.

While en route to a 100-year-old patient who’s also been waiting to get help, Safyan and Haleema have to be urgently diverted to a category one incident for a four-month-old baby who is unconscious, with noisy breathing.

After a night of long delays, the shift draws to a close, with patients still waiting for an ambulance to be allocated. Dispatcher Jamie reflects, ‘We used to talk about things going back to normal after Covid. We didn’t accept this is the new normal. Even though we can see things that need improvement, we’re here to help people and it’s what we do best.’

This episode highlights the demand on the ambulance service today, as they continue to grapple with increasing call volumes and finite resources, while managing the repercussions of delays across the NHS on both patients and the ambulance service.