Some of the North East's most senior A&E medics feature in the More4 TV show Emergency Helicopter Medics - and they are shown saving the lives of patients in dire straits around the region as part of the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) team.
In the show, series 4 of which is currently available on All4 and every Sunday at 9pm, Dr Phil Dowson and Dr Dave Bramley play a vital role in saving lives. Both men are consultants at Sunderland Royal 's A&E and South Tyneside District Hospital but they also devote days to flying with the doctors who devote days to flying with the GNAAS.
In the latest series of the show - currently on screens - Dr Dowson is seen helping to free and treat a patient who was trapped in a car following a shocking smash in Lanchester, County Durham. He also treats a patient for internal bleeding at the roadside after they were trapped between a car and a motorbike as they changed a tyre.
Dr Bramley is meanwhile seen playing a key role with other emergency services personnel in saving the life of Nick Copson - who was critically injured in a crash in Witton-le-Wear in 2018. Nick was cut free from the wreckage and was taken to Middlesbrough’s James Cook University Hospital with a catalogue of injuries including a broken back, crushed torso and punctured lungs.
In addition to Dr Bramley and Dr Dowson, their South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS colleagues Dr Kate Allen and Dr Phil O’Donnell also work with the GNAAS. Both have featured in previous series of the show. Dr Dowson said: "The show gives a glimpse of some of the types of incidents that we and our air ambulance colleagues across the country respond to.
"This kind of show is great to help the public and our in-hospital colleagues see how we operate and in what challenging environments the ambulance services have to make their assessments and deliver patient care. As all of the air ambulance services featured in the show are entirely charity funded, the show is also great in raising the profile of the service and encourage people to fundraise for us if they wish."
He said he hoped people would watch and learn about the job he and others do and the difference they make. The new series of Emergency Helicopter Medics airs at 9pm on Sundays.
READ NEXT:
