BBC documentary: Series Cast

Abi works as a paramedic for the Tactical Response Unit and is trained in chemical and multi-casualty incidents. The unit is equipped to respond to marauding terror attacks and also responds to Cat 1 calls, the most serious medical emergencies.

In episode one, Abi responds to an emergency involving multiple patients who have been attacked with an unknown chemical.

While Abi assesses the patients’ injuries, the Tactical Operations Centre receive another urgent call to a multi-storey block of flats in Erith, where a flat is on fire. She also responds to a respiratory arrest, where she realises she previously attended the same patient earlier in the week.

Abi from BBC Ambulance answers your questions #TeamLAS (watch on YouTube)

Homerton crewmates David and Lexi arrive at a 59-year-old woman with difficulty in breathing. They discover the patient is living in a flat covered in black mould which is exacerbating her symptoms.

David said: “In east London especially, there’s a lot of poverty. Whenever we go to see a patient, it’s quite common now that I’ll just check to see if the fridge is working.”

Lex added: “I’ve never seen a house that bad.”

Crewmates Jodene and Claudia, who also work out of Homerton, are dispatched to a patient who is vomiting. On arrival, they learn the patient is HIV positive and has battled with drug addiction for 30 years.

Claudia, who joined LAS in 2019 with no previous clinical experience, says that the best thing about the job is the human factor. She adds: “the variety of people and situations we encounter is simply incredible.”

At Roman Road Market, a stallholder has been assaulted after asking a member of the public to clean up their dog’s mess; crewmates Wendy and Ryan are dispatched and after bandaging the patient’s broken nose, he shares how he became a stallholder and how the market has changed.

Ellis works as an Emergency Medical Technician. He worked for Virgin Active before joining London Ambulance Service. During Covid, his nan, who he lived with, became quite unwell and paramedics came to their house a lot to help with her treatment. Ellis was inspired to sign up to this career, after one particular visit during which he was particularly touched by the special efforts made by the paramedics helping his nan – playing music in the ambulance for her for instance. During the drive to the hospital, the paramedic helping his nan told him she thought he would make a good fit in this career and gave him the link to the London Ambulance Service website with information on roles. Since then Ellis has not turned back. 

#TeamLAS clinicians use humour to bond with elderly patient (watch on YouTube)

Jade is a paramedic and has been in this position for a little over a year, after she first joined LAS in 2017. She was attracted by the daily challenge of this role and career – and the fact that she is never sure of what might come next. The variety of the role is massively appealing to Jade and she says that even two seemingly similar situations will still be completely unique in their own ways. She added: “I like to be kept on my toes.”

#TeamLAS clinicians use humour to bond with elderly patient (watch on YouTube)

Sumaiya is a call handler at London Ambulance Service which means she works in our control room answering 999 calls and sending out vehicles across the capital to treat patients. She has had to call 999 herself many times throughout her life because her brother is battling Crohn’s disease, a condition which leaves him bedbound and in constant pain. She aspires to become a paramedic herself one day.

Read more about here story.

Jasmine is a paramedic who first joined the Service in October 2018 after joining as a newly qualified paramedic. She was attracted to this career after realising she was not build for a career sitting in an office. Jasmine considered becoming a nurse, as it offered many of the aspects in a career she desired, but in the end she decided she did not want to be in a hospital setting all day every day. When she discovered the paramedic role she realised how interesting, fast-paced and varied the role could be and knew this was the path for her.

Kayla first began her career as a Trainee Assistant Ambulance Practitioner in July 2022. She is now an Assistant Ambulance Practitioner (AAP) and is due to shortly begin her upskill course to become an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) soon. She first joined London Ambulance Service due to having a background in biomedical science, but being unfulfilled in that role and desiring a more hands-on and practical role which enabled her to work with members of the public more, she moved to LAS. When she saw her current role, she was attracted to the convenience of the role and said it appeared to be a “very smart when to get into the career and progress instead of going straight into university for a second time.”

Nikki has been an Advanced Paramedic Practitioner (Critical Care) at London Ambulance Service since November 2020. Prior to joining LAS she worked for North West Ambulance Service (NWAS). When asked why she was attracted to a career in paramedicine, she said: “This role and work in this sector ticks all the boxes for the career I wanted. Every single day is different, I get to work outside and in different environments. I’m also able to travel to world with work and go to amazing places. But above all I am able to do something that makes a real difference to people.”

Shyr-Nai and James starred in Episode 3 of Series 13, responding to life-threatening emergencies in south-east London.

Emergency Medical Technician James started his #TeamLAS career as a call handler, while Paramedic Shyr-Nai first discovered her passion for patient care as a St John Ambulance Cadet.

The episode sees James and Shyr-Nai caring for several patients including an elderly faller, a patient with suspected sepsis and a man who is feeling suicidal.

Read more about this episode.

Watch a video of them preparing for their shift.

In Episode 3 call handler Nicole takes a call in the 999 control room from a patient having a miscarriage. Nicole gives advice to the patient but after the call, becomes overwhelmed and is consoled by a fellow call handler.

The call has triggered great distress for Nicole and she recalls her own miscarriage, saying: “I didn’t know what to do. I felt like it was my fault; I was lost. I don’t want anyone to feel helpless, the way that I have felt helpless.”

Read more about Nicole in this episode.

Omar and Kez are crewmates in north-west London. In the episode, Omar reveals that his parents originally came to the UK as refugees to flee civil war in Somalia. He’s now proud to give back to the city that ‘welcomed his family with open arms’ (watch clip from YouTube interview).

In the episode, the crew are sent to a motorbike crash outside Kilburn Underground Station as 999 calls frantically continue to come in. On their next shift in Marylebone, Omar and Kez stem the bleeding from a patient’s head injury while the patient expresses frustration at getting older.

Omar says: “Every time I go to a patient who is elderly, I just think, one day this is going to be me. This job has shown me that life is fleeting. It’s taught me to appreciate everybody and show love whenever you can.

Read more about their story.

In Episode 4, a call is received from The Metropolitan Police with reports of a shotgun fired at Clapham Common. As information comes in, Operational Delivery Manager Pete sends multiple crews to a rendezvous point where they await for the arrival of a police armed response vehicle.

In the show, Pete said:

“You’ve got to make some really quick decisions. Seconds really matter. They add to patient care. They add up to saving lives.”

Niamh, from Dublin, was a nurse in ITU for more than 10 years before joining London Ambulance Service as an Emergency Medical Technician. She has since qualified as a paramedic. The 32-year-old was originally attracted to the Service as she wanted to gain more pre-hospital experience, as her career had been primarily in hospital settings. When asked what she loves about her job, she said: Being able to help people through the moments in the lives where they don’t know what to do. In my experience, it’s usually kindness and laughter they need alongside the medical help.”

Isobel, 25, is a Tactical Response Unit paramedic and has been in the role for four months now. She first joined LAS in 2020 as a Newly Qualified Paramedic after graduating from university. She also hoped to find a career which would enable her to engage with her community – and was first attracted to the idea of social work. But when she came across the Paramedic Science degree – she felt it was a “perfect fit” for her as it combined working with people in her community as well as her favourite school subjects, biology and science. Her parents are also public sector workers and this led her to be attracted to a career in the same area.

Robert, 37, is a Newly Qualified Paramedic and previously worked as an Emergency Medical Technician. He first joined the Service in March 2018 after coming from a private ambulance service business, which he first joined at the age of 24. In his work in this former role, he had been attracted to joining particularly after seeing how the LAS worked on the 2012 Olympics. When asked, he said his main drive and passion comes from helping others who are in need.

Gary, 37, is a Clinical Team Leader who previously worked in the Tactical Response Unit (TRU). He has been with London Ambulance Service for 16 years after studying computer science and university and seeing an advert for the Service. He originally thought he would do the job for a few years before returning to computing – but loved it so much he has never looked back. One of his favourite parts of his job is the fact that he is able to be out and about, in fast-paced and highly-pressured working environments which he thrives on.

Webster, 34, had been working as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) in New York when he relocated to London in 2017. He joined London Ambulance Service as a call handler hoping it would be a good route to becoming an EMT but enjoyed working in the 999 control room so much he decided to stay there. When the show was filmed, he was a dispatcher and saw every shift as “a puzzle waiting to be solved” and found it rewarding dispatching ambulances to patients in need. He loves learning and collaborating alongside his colleagues and his new role as a performance manager allows him to help call handlers who are embarking on their careers at LAS. This gives him immense joy.

Martin, 36, has been with London Ambulance Service for 10 years and was inspired to join after meeting ambulance crews while working in an administrative role at St George’s Hospital. He has since qualified as a paramedic and we see him working solo on a fast response car in the show. He loves the people he has met in the job saying, “we share a unique life experience on the road.” In his 10 years he has made many friends and amassed many good stories to share at the pub. He says the secret to success in the job can be boiled down to three things: humour, the pursuit of excellent patient care and an unwavering commitment to finishing on time.

Lydia, 23, is from Australia and joined us straight after graduating to begin her career as a paramedic in London. She chose to come to London Ambulance Service because of all the opportunities there are working in the capital city and the fast pace of the job. Like many of our Australian paramedics, she loves how easy it is to travel around Europe, saying: “I can travel the world on my days off!” Her compassion for her patients is clear in the show and she admits that she loves being able to have a chat with patients and helping when she can, describing her job as a privilege.