Ivan on Ambulance
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Ambulance viewers in tears as paramedics fight to save baby who stopped breathing

Ivan spent the first three months of his life in hospital

BBC documentary series Ambulance left viewers in tears last night (June 6) when paramedics rushed to save a baby who wasn’t breathing.

Episode two saw the crews looking after baby Ivan, who was born prematurely and spent the first three months of his life in hospital.

He had not long come home and was in the bath when he was taken ill and went “floppy”.

Ambulance on BBC One
Paramedics revealed that Ivan had not long come home from hospital (Credit: BBC)

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Paramedics explained: “His dad was giving him a bath tonight and he noticed Ivan temporarily went floppy. Said he wasn’t breathing.”

At that point in the programme, Ivan was breathing but his situation was serious.

Ivan on Ambulance
He stopped breathing again (Credit: BBC)

He had been on his home oxygen supply for seven minutes when paramedics Lauren and Alice arrived in an ambulance.

They got him in the vehicle but he stopped breathing again and paramedics advised his worried dad, who was in the ambulance with him, that Ivan might be having another apnoea episode.

Ivan on Ambulance
With the help of the paramedics, Ivan started breathing properly (Credit: BBC)

With some assistance from the ambulance crew, Ivan started breathing properly again and one of them joked: “Bloody children, eh!?”

One viewer wrote on Twitter: “So emotional #Ambulance poor baby.”

Another said, alongside a crying emoji: “Omg that poor baby. #Ambulance.”

A third commented: “Can’t just be me who finds Ambulance incredibly tough to watch. The way they dealt with baby Ivan was incredible. @NWAmbulance you are all heroes. Thank you all of you for what you do. #Ambulance.”

Someone else tweeted: “Watching #Ambulance and still being amazed at the job they do every minute of every day… little #Ivan was just gorgeous but a terrifying watch…”

A fifth put: “When your heart is in your mouth watching a baby stop breathing and the ambulance crew handle the situation calmly, professionally and in a caring manner. These people are incredible. #Ambulance.”

https://twitter.com/Happygo13974007/status/1136728743827902472

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Ivan’s case contrasted with other, less serious situations on the programme last night.

One such incident, in which a 58-year-old woman called paramedics after falling from a ladder and hurting her toe, had viewers fuming and wondering why people call an ambulance over seemingly minor injuries.

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Nancy Brown
Associate Editor

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