Street Hospital - First Episode

I wonder if they'll call it Betty...

– Wellington paramedic Craig on the baby nearly born in Wellington nightclub Bettys

A man collapsed and went into a cardiac arrest — and just standing there watching this man dying in the frozen food section was one of the hardest things I've ever done. It was a dark night and it was raining and the lights of their ambulance filled up the whole shop, and it looked so dramatic and they came in and they worked their magic on this guy. They got him back and then wheeled him out.

– Trainee paramedic Steff on witnessing a medical event as a teenager and deciding to become a paramedic

...I hate seeing people being beaten up. It's... why do they do it?

– Wellington paramedic Craig witnesses an assault

The "stars" of the show include barefoot folk dressed as unicorns with glass in their feet, an Irishman on St Patrick's Day who runs into a wall and splits his head, and casualties from a busload of partygoers celebrating a 21st.

– Excerpt from a preview of Street Hospital, The Dominion Post (TV Week pullout), 10 September 2013, page 3

Worst case scenario, there are predatory characters about who may take advantage of a young woman who's that intoxicated...I mean there are all sorts of horrible things that could happen, but we're here, so hopefully that won't happen tonight.

– Paramedic Benjamin on the risks of being young and drunk in the city, early in the episode

You hold people's lives in your hands, and you're stressed about biting a burger.

– Senior paramedic Benjamin jokes with Steffabout a super-spicy burger, early in the episode

Please — I really want to see a baby being born...

– Steff is excited about a call out for a woman giving birth in a bar

On Friday and Saturday nights ambulances parked in Wellington's party zone become makeshift hospitals. At the street hospital base paramedics treat the injured where they can, on the spot ... Can they stop the 'smashed and trashed' piling into the hospital's emergency department, and how will our paramedics cope keeping a straight face when everyone else is off theirs?

– Narrator Mike Minogue on the job facing Wellington paramedics, at the start of this episode

Some people have come back the next weekend to say how grateful they were for what we did for them. Some even bring us all coffees to show their appreciation.

– Wellington paramedic Jake Carlson on the gratitude shown by some ex-patients, The Dominion Post, 10 September 2013

This young man has preloaded before coming into town. He's had a bottle of gin, he's swapped between different wines, and had beer as well. Surprisingly enough he's been found vomiting...

– Ben details a foolhardy night out for a young man from Bulls, near the end of the episode

Birth is normal, it happens. But just given the situation it's easier if we just whip her down now.

– Benjamin on taking a labouring woman to hospital from a bar on a Friday night

The shoots would start at about ten at night and go through to the wee hours of the morning. We learned how to work with the paramedics so we didn't get in their way yet still captured the drama. If they ever told us to stop we would and there were times we had to.

– Producer Jane Robertson on how her crew worked with Wellington Free Ambulance filming the show, The Dominion Post, 10 September 2013, page 3