It is Christmas in central London. The opening
scene shows a bright sign wishing Londoners an ‘enchanted
Christmas’.
We then see the three crew staff who work on
the alternative response vehicle, known as the 'booze bus'. Team
Leader Brian Hayes answers the control radio to his next call.
The booze bus speeds off through the streets
of Central London to its next call. A man is helped into the
vehicle. He is finding it difficult to walk and the Brian asks him
how much he has had to drink.
Next we see a woman carried into the
ambulance. She is wrapped in a blanket, her hair falls across her
face. A sick bowl she holds in her hand shakes uncontrollably and
she is clearly intoxicated. She drops the sick bowl and then we see
her vomit in the bowl. Finally she is helped out of the ambulance
to hospital and driver Kevin begins to clean the floor of the
vehicle.
A text screen appears: “We deal with more than
60,000 alcohol-related calls every year.”
The action restarts. A person in a doorway is
attended to. Someone else is helped into the ambulance. Brian calls
the family of another person who has had too much to drink.
Another female is slumped over a sick bowl and
is then helped out of the ambulance. Kevin again cleans the
vehicle.
A text screen appears: “We are going to 28 per
cent more of these calls than three years ago.”
The action moves to a nearby hospital. A woman
is shown in handcuffs with police and Brian comments that she will
be one person they won’t need to take on the booze bus.
Out on the streets a man is lifted onto a
stretcher by four members of staff and put into the ambulance. He
is given fluid in his arm to make him feel better. Brian tries to
talk to the man about the danger he was in by being left in the
street by his friends, having drunk so much alcohol. Again, the man
is taken to hospital and Kevin begins cleaning the vehicle.
A text screen appears: “And dealing with these
calls makes it harder to get to people who really need us.”
A text screen appears: “Have a good
night…”
This cuts to a shot of a pool of vomit.
A text screen appears: “….but not on us.”
Finally, a text screen appears: “Copyright,
London Ambulance Service 2008.”