OXFORD paramedics are set to star in a show which takes viewers behind the scenes as they attend emergency call outs.

Ambulance crews from South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SCAS) based in the city will appear in a new series of Inside the Ambulance – Coast and Country.

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Along with colleagues based in Portsmouth, the Oxford crews were filmed for this latest series of the long-running programme during an eight-week period at the start of 2020, finishing in early March as the coronavirus outbreak escalated.

Inside the Ambulance provides viewers with a unique perspective of life on the emergency services frontline by using body worn cameras and cameras mounted on and in the ambulance which capture everything the ambulance crew come across while on shift.

One of those taking part in the filming was clinical team educator and paramedic, Mike Little.

Oxford Mail:

Mike Little. Picture: UKTV/Kris Askey

He said: “To say I was scared was a bit of an understatement – but the production team were really good at putting myself and everyone who took part at ease very quickly.

“It was strange seeing people’s reactions to us as we arrived wearing body-worn cameras, and of course we were able to switch off our cameras if we felt the emergency we were called to wasn’t appropriate to be filmed.

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He added: “I hope the new series shows the public just how hard our staff work and, more importantly, just how hard they need to train to be prepared to arrive at anything from a nosebleed to a plane crash – and anything in between – while remaining calm, professional, compassionate and, in some cases, being able to make life or death decisions rapidly.”

Emergency care assistants, Vikkie Kesserwan and Ross Shortman, were another two members of the Oxford team to volunteer to take part in the programme.

Oxford Mail:

Vikkie Kesserwan. Pictures: UKTV/Kris Askey

Ms Kesserwan said: “I moaned like there was no tomorrow on my first filming shift because of the GoPros mounted on us and the adjustments we had to make whilst wearing them, thinking ‘what have I got myself into?’. But by the end of the eight weeks I did not want the filming crews to go. I really enjoyed being part of the programme and it will be a little strange seeing myself on TV whilst at work.”

Mr Shortman added: “I really enjoyed the filming process and it was a great opportunity to showcase the amazing care, teamwork and empathy that the whole Oxfordshire 999 team displays.

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"As well showing how we respond to serious incidents, I hope the programme also shows that despite the challenges we can still have a giggle from time to time, and that puts a smile on viewers’ faces too.”

Inside the Ambulance – Coast and Country begins on the W Channel next month with a new episode scheduled every weekday for two weeks.

The programme was filmed with SCAS in Oxfordshire between January 13 and March 8.

Over the course of eight weeks, the cameras followed 56 shifts completed by 36 frontline staff based at the SCAS Oxford City Resource Centre on the Churchill Hospital site.