Tom McDonald's day job is making life or death decisions - he's dispatch officer at the North East Ambulance Service 's operations centre in Newcastle.
He features in the returning BBC documentary Ambulance, in a heartbreaking opening episode which sees a family of Iraqi refugees rushed to hospital - days after dad has arrived in the UK, having previously been held captive by terrorists. Tom is in charge of sending paramedics and ambulance crews to emergencies as soon as he can.
Speaking months on from filming, he told ChronicleLive how distressing that case had been - on an incredibly busy day which saw NEAS answering emergency calls every 17 seconds. The show also features the ambulance service's response to cases of domestic violence and a terrifying hit-and-run outside of a Tyneside school.
