Throng

The documentary series charting the work of the Scottish Highlands emergency services continues. In this instalment, the Royal Navy rescue team is called out to a severely injured walker; Glasgow’s Air Ambulance crew battles bad weather to reach a man with an injured neck; and the RAF SAR team faces a dangerous mission to save two climbers stranded 2,000 feet up.

At Lossiemouth on the northeast coast of Scotland, the members of RAF Search and Rescue 137 are prepared for the challenges that the long summer days can bring. While the Highlands may look inviting during this season, the picturesque landscape still has a number of hidden dangers. Just after 7pm, the team receives a call from Surgeon’s Gulley on Ben Nevis where two climbers are stranded. With temperatures in the evening plummeting fast, Rescue 137 needs to cover the 65- mile distance to the mountain as quickly as possible.

It is not long before the rescuers reach the coordinates they have been given, but there is no sign of the climbers – until radar operator Flt Sgt Dave Hutt spots them deep within a narrow ravine. In order to save the climbers, Dave and his crew must attempt one of the most dangerous and difficult helicopter manoeuvres they have ever performed. While pilot Flt Lt Steve Johnson reverses the chopper over the ravine, winchman Sgt Chris Bradshaw lowers himself into the gulley – but will the winch cable be long enough?

Relying on commands from other crew members, Steve eventually manages to achieve the perfect hovering position – but the rotor blades are just 15 feet away from the mountainside. With jagged rocks all around, it is essential that Dave maintains firm control as Chris is lowered 200ft to the cragfast climbers.

At Prestwick, the Royal Navy search and rescue crew is planning a training exercise with Dr Mark Dunn, a consultant from the Emergency Medical Retrieval Service. In preparation for SAR work with the Navy, Mark must familiarise himself with standard helicopter procedures – and it is not long before he is thrown in at the deep end. The crew has barely left base when an emergency call comes in from Clyde Coastguard. A woman has fallen and badly broken her leg at Dunstaffnage near the port of Oban.

After quickly covering the 50 miles to the scene, the helicopter touches down to allow Dr Dunn and PO Wiggy Wigfull to disembark and attend to the patient. The severity of her injury means she needs to get to hospital for specialist treatment as quickly as possible. However, with an open fracture of the leg, even the slightest vibration would cause the patient incredible pain. After winching her into the chopper and administering morphine to ease her discomfort, the crew must take it nice and steady all the way to the Royal Alexandria hospital in Paisley.

Scotland’s Air Ambulance service consists of two planes – one stationed in Glasgow and one in Aberdeen. Between them, they cover the whole of the country, transferring patients from remote areas to hospital care. Today, the Aberdeen aircraft is down, meaning the Glasgow crew has its work cut out. The team’s first call-out comes from Kirkwall on the Orkney Isles where a man is suffering from a neck injury.

The patient, an 83-year-old man, fell over three days ago, but decided to treat himself – by wrapping a towel round his neck. He is to be transferred to Aberdeen for specialist care, but it is a 220-mile journey from the air ambulance’s Glasgow base to Orkney. Once the patient is safely on board, the weather takes a turn for the worse, and the crew faces a battle through wind and rain to reach the hospital.