Friday 2 April 2010 at 8.00pm
Concluding on Five this week is the documentary series following the work of the Scottish Highlands emergency services. In this episode, RAF winchman Martin ‘Kempy’ Kemp has a thrilling final shift when the team is called to three difficult rescues in a row. Over in Prestwick, the Royal Navy search and rescue crew takes an unprecedented step to assist a heart attack victim.
The RAF guys are en route to a special lunch in honour of Kempy’s last shift when they are diverted to rescue a fallen climber with a suspected head injury. With no accurate grid reference, the team searches for 20 minutes before finding the casualty 1,800 feet up an icy slope. Gale-force winds slam into the side of the chopper and prevent pilot Flt Lt John Darlow from getting close enough to the injured man. As a result, Kempy faces a dramatic 200ft winch to the casualty, who has fallen down a steep gully. Falling rocks mean that Kempy must act fast, but as the bloodied climber is hauled into the hovering chopper, the winchman learns that another person awaits his help.
The next casualty has fallen while climbing a notorious mountain that has seen ten rescues in a year. He has been lying in deep snow at sub-zero temperatures for almost three hours, and the guys are concerned when they struggle to locate the injured man. The cloud base is dropping, and the weather is closing in quickly. “We’re going to get sucked into this if we’re not careful,” says Kempy as he prepares to collect the casualty. Kempy must act swiftly and calmly as the hurricane-force downdraught threatens to throw him and the injured man into the valley below.
After another dramatic rescue, the RAF team looks forward to enjoying a celebratory curry in Kempy’s honour. Flt Lt Darlow has noticed a technical fault with the helicopter that would make winching impossible, so the team looks certain to be grounded for the time being. However, the guys’ plans are scuppered once again when they receive yet another emergency call. Two anglers are stranded on a rocky outcrop, where they are at risk of being swept out to sea. Not wishing to leave the men to the elements, the RAF boys decide to go to the scene and do what they can to help.
After spotting the trapped anglers, Kempy makes a brave suggestion. The landing lights have blown, so he volunteers to descend in pitch darkness while the pilot borrows his light to avoid colliding with the nearby cliffs. After swinging perilously close to the rocky cliff face, Kempy is forced to return to the chopper, but he is not one to give up easily. “Right, let’s get low, get it done, commit,” he says, as his final rescue mission quickly becomes the most challenging of his career.
Meanwhile, over in Prestwick, the Royal Navy rescue team comes to the aid of a man who has suffered a serious heart attack. The casualty faces certain death if he does not undergo a lifesaving procedure within the hour, so the rescue helicopter is his last chance. Once in the air, the man starts to vomit, and to make matters worse, the ambulance scheduled to meet the helicopter on landing fails to appear. Time is running out fast, so the guys are forced to take matters into their own hands in a last-ditch attempt to save their passenger’s life.