BBC - BBC Two Programmes - Toughest place to be a..., Paramedic

Angie Dymott has been a paramedic for six years. She is based at the main ambulance centre in Cardiff and she loves her job.

A lot of the work involves helping people who have drunk too much, but though she has been verbally abused, she has never really felt unsafe.

Her paramedic partner is a woman and Angie thinks that as two women they sometimes act as a calming influence. They have been called the "Mumbulance", when they turn up, which she thinks is funny.

The frustrations of the job are the time wasters, the people who call because they have toothache or an earache or even a broken fingernail.

Although she has always wanted to be a paramedic, Angie did lots of other jobs first, including working as an entertainer at a holiday camp, running a pub, and being both an aromatherapist and a sports masseur

Angie lives in a small village about nine miles from Cardiff, with husband Rob, their son Chris and Glen the dog.

She has been married to Rob for about 20 years. He is a full time Foster Carer. They have been fostering children for 10 years because they had no children of their own. They have probably fostered between 20-25 children in that time, some for years and some for only a few days.

They do get attached to the children they foster and really miss them when they go.

As a mum doing this job, when a call comes through and its child, her stomach just turns over.

Mostly the children are fine and it turns out to be parents over worrying, but still, every one drives just a bit faster when there is a child involved and breathes a bit easier if the child is crying because that means they are probably going to be ok.

Wilfredo Ponce has been a full time Paramedic for 10 years.

He is based at a small fire station in the centre of Guatemala City, and being a paramedic is his passion.

Most of the casualties he attends to have either been involved in traffic accidents or shootings. Having to go into high risk areas, he is fully aware of the dangers.

And although it worries him, he says that is not going to stop him from doing the job he has been trained for.

Wilfredo grew up in the 'El Gallito' neighbourhood which is a notorious gang area, and has experienced the effects of gang activity directly as well as through his work and most of the friends that he grew up with are now dead.

Wilfredo managed to get out of the slums partly through working as a paramedic and now feels much safer.

Like all paramedics in Guatemala, Wilfredo trained both as a paramedic and a fireman.

He then decided to become a trainer and now takes care or the professional development of new Bombero recruits.

There is not a better reward for him than to use his skills to help others and make a difference.

But the frustrations of the job are many. The lack of resources is a constant battle, he would love to have access to the equipment and resources of modern ambulance services.

Often he feels that he does not have basic medical equipment that could save somebody’s life.

Although being a paramedic has become Wilfredo's life, that was not always the case.

It was the love of a woman that made him became one. He fell in love with a girl whose father was a paramedic, and she wanted him to be one as well.

Although the relationship did not have a happy ending, becoming a paramedic changed Wilfredo's life forever.

Wilfredo now lives in Ciudad Satelite, about 45 minutes from Guatemala City, with wife Mildred and their three children.

His family are all very proud of what he does and his son wants to follow in his footsteps and be a paramedic as well. He does not like telling his wife Mildred much about what goes on at work.

He does not want her to worry, although she is very aware of the dangers that he faces at work.

Luis Eduardo Archila or Archie is a volunteer fireman in Guatemala City.

He is a Sales Manager in his day job, but at weekends he puts on his uniform and goes out with the Bomberos Volantarios at Decima (10) Fire station.

He was Angie's host for her first few days, both at the station and at home and he tells us what taking part in the programme was like for him.

I feel that the crew were very good professionals with a big heart, and always open to suggestions.

The experience was unforgettable! To have a camera filming your every move, changes your way of seeing things.

If they asked me if I would do it again, I wouldn't think twice, the answer would be yes. Thanks for the opportunity!

I identified with Angie a lot. She's an excellent person, very kind, warm and who knows her job well.

I think that from the first patient that we treated together, and despite the language barrier and the different ways of working, we communicated really well, and gave the patients the treatment they deserved.

This got better and better the longer we worked together.

My family accepted her very quickly as well.

To be on the television...Ha Ha Ha...Just kidding!

I have always thought that if you feel you are doing something right, you have to teach it and let other people see how to do it.

Taking part in this program will allow us to share how we work, with the resources we have, and will show others what they can also do, so they can also value what they do more and appreciate what they have.

First we assumed it would be a man, someone who was 2m tall with muscles everywhere.

Then when we found out that it was a woman, we never thought it would be a lady with family, that's for sure!

Angie made a really good impression and she knew exactly what we were talking about when we talked about anything related to the ambulance work.

But when we start showing her the rescue and fire equipment, it was like we were talking rocket science to her.

Then she explained that in her town the jobs of a paramedic and fire-fighter are separate.

Still she was very open to learn and understand, she was always listening and also happy to share what she knew. If you asked me, would I do the whole thing again? I will say yes, if it's with Angie!

Just Do it! It's a great experience.

It does involve a lot of time and effort but we felt that if you can show the world the good things you do and highlight the needs of your country, then there is no pressure that you can't handle.

I think she handled it fine. From the first Shift we worked together it was like we had worked together for many years, each of us just knowing instinctively what to do.

We were in a really dangerous area and we had to "pick and pack" the patients – get them into the ambulance and deal with them in a safe place really fast - but the team work was really amazing, even though there was a language barrier.

Then I was with her when we picked the first shooting. I think for her it was shocking. I think it was the first time she has seen anything like this in her career so far.

In the end I was able to show her the bad things in my country but also some of the good things. We took her to our church where she saw how important God is to us. And we took her up to the north of the country to Antigua (a colonial city) where she was able to see another side, a good side of our country. She experienced the safety of an inland, country town.

Angie probably learned some new skills on shift, things she must have studied but never got the chance to practice.

Also now Angie knows that there is a little country called Guatemala, in central America, and there are people here who are passionate about helping others without expecting anything back.

I'm pretty sure that even though we don't have much, she will value the things she experienced here.

Unfortunately the British people will see the dangers we have here and what we are exposed everyday, but I hope they will also see that God is blessing Guatemala with a lot of good things; good food, good family relations, nice places to visit and special nice people, and that the good things outweigh the bad things.

Come and visit Guatemala and learn our culture and visit all the nice places we have. We will be here to welcome you and treat you like you are at home, just how we did with Angie, opening our homes and our hearts to let her come in!

When I first heard that the Producer and Assistant Producer were coming, for research and prior to the actual filming, I was expecting these glamorous people, then I met Kevin and Silvia and they were amazing.

Kevin was always thinking and never speaking and Silvia always speaking!

But they were real people, just like us! They had great Ideas and were really relaxed!

When they came back again to do the actual filming Silvia was always stressed and Kevin always pushing for more!

Paul was a great cameraman, always calm, even travelling at 180 Km per hour, in front of the ambulance!

I really loved working with all of them!