Heartbreaking scenes in the latest episode of the BBC's Ambulance documentary - focussing on the North East Ambulance Service - saw paramedics called to help a young woman who'd "slipped through the cracks" and was sleeping rough after escaping domestic violence.
The woman, just 19, was sleeping under an underpass in Newcastle. The ambulance were called as she was in pain due to nerve damage in her legs. She had left hospital a fortnight earlier.
As NHS paramedic Chris Kirkbride and crewmate Iqra rushed to attend - having chipped ice from the vehicle on a freezing morning - they both reflected on having attended call-outs to look after this woman before. When they arrived the woman told her story. She said she had been sleeping rough for "about a year or two" and had turned to the streets after leaving care.
She had been a victim of domestic violence, and even spoke of giving up a baby for adoption. In a harrowing moment, she added: "After I had my baby he stamped all over my stomach. My c-section came out a bit, and he left us in the room bleeding."
After taking the woman to hospital where she would receive further care, Chris reflected on the job. He said: "The modern ambulance service we are dealing with tonnes of different problems. They are not just medical problems they are social problems. we do see the most horrific things in society, happening to the most vulnerable people.
"And they're slipping through the net. We're just fighting fires, that's what it feels like."
The episode also features a number of traumatic mental health scenes, with the trauma of ageing and of tight finances contributing to suicide attempts. In one case, pensioner Lorna, 90, has become so frustrated with her physical frailty that she's taken an overdose. Speaking to paramedics Josie and Emma, she said: "It's because my walking is getting worse. We were talking about going into a home and then I decided this morning I don't want to do that."
The paramedics helped her to relax and made a safeguarding referral to get her further help and keep her looked after at home with more support from family.
After helping another woman who has also tried to kill herself, Chris added: "Problems with bills and money are always stressful for people. This is just the one thing that's tipped her over the edge. We have seen a lot of financial stress problems. Self-harm and suicide has increased in the last two years. Isolation and lack of services have probably had a hand in it.
"I find it hard because you can't fix them. Paramedics like to fix things. But we can only try. It's satisfying when we can see a bit of light at the end of tunnel and can point them in the right direction to get the help they need. I wouldn't do it if I thought we weren't helping people."
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