‘People don’t realise how at risk they are’: A day with an ambulance service in a heatwave

Amelia lord is a white woman in her late 20s. She has shoulder length brown hair partly pulled back in a ponytail with frontpieces either side of her face. She has defined eyebrows and is wearing makeup, has a central nose ring and earrings, and is smiling at the camera. She wears a sleeveless black top. She is holding a pair of books and stands in front of a bookshelf with collections of books on it, including titles by rebecca yarros and the harry potter series by jk rowling.

During their one short break, Charlotte lets out a small shout of pain. The leather seat in the ambulance has burnt her skin. She reaches for her portable fan which mists the air, as the air conditioning gets going.

The big black boots and dark green trousers both Connor and Charlotte wear offer protection from spills and infection, but they are not cool items of clothing. From lifting and moving patients around, to carrying heavy bags and rushing: it is undeniably hot work.

“I went home dehydrated several times in the last heatwave,” says Charlotte. During our ride out, the paramedics often remind each other to drink.

Of the four calls we attend with the paramedics, three are heat-related. Finally at 7.30pm, the BBC leaves the ambulance, but Charlotte and Connor still have five more hours on their shift.

With temperatures expected to remain at heatwave level until the end of next week, staff at the South Western Ambulance Service are urging families, neighbours and carers to check on older people, warning that many of the incidents they tend to could be prevented.

The advice is simple: get fans out the attic, leave the less mobile with plenty of water that they can reach and also make sure you check in on your more vulnerable neighbours.

“In winter you pop in on elderly relatives,” says Connor. “It’s even more important to do that on hot summer days.”

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