‘People don’t realize how much they’re at risk’: A day in a heatwave for an ambulance service

During their one brief break, Charlotte let out a small cry of pain. The leather seat in the ambulance burned her skin. She reaches for her portable fan while the air conditioner runs.

Both Connor and Charlotte wear large black boots and dark green pants to prevent bleeding and infection. From lifting and moving patients, to carrying heavy bags and running around, it’s undeniably hot work.

“Last heat wave I went home dry a lot,” said Charlotte. During our trip, the paramedics often reminded each other to drink.

Three out of four calls we attend to paramedics are heat-related. Finally at 7.30pm the BBC ambulance leaves, but Charlotte and Connor still have five more hours on the shift.

With temperatures expected to remain at heat wave levels until the end of next week, South West Ambulance Service staff are urging families, neighbors and carers to keep an eye on older people, warning that more accidents can be prevented.

The advice is simple: take fans out of the ceiling, leave the smaller mobiles where they can reach more water, and also make sure to check your more vulnerable neighbors.

“You run into elderly relatives in the winter,” Conner says. “It’s even more important to do this on hot summer days.”