'Thank you for what you did for me': LBC's Iain Dale reunites with NHS workers who helped him fight back after fall

5 July 2023, 19:45 | Updated: 5 July 2023, 21:41

LBC's Iain Dale has reunited with the NHS workers who helped him fight back after his fall at Charing Cross train station to mark 75 years of the health service.

Ambulance workers Poppy Burnell and Faye Ciger were among the three-woman team that arrived to help Iain following the incident.

Explaining the process, Poppy told Iain: "We get a brief explanation of what we're going to so we got 'escalator fall in the station'.

"My first thought was that you might've fallen down the escalator... so I was firstly just relieved that you were at the top and speaking and ok. We gave you some pain relief.

"We weren’t really thinking about the extrication in that minute but luckily the TfL staff helped us."

Read more: Nurse who administered historic Covid jab weeps as NHS is honoured at Westminster Abbey on its 75th anniversary

Read more: 'Brits are taking the NHS for granted', says woman who was first baby born on the health service

Iain recalls his experience with London Ambulance staff

Watch the full conversation on Global Player

Recollecting his experience, Iain said he was moved from a chair to a 'wheelchair contraption' to get to the ambulance.

"Every time my leg was moved - at that point we didn't know... I assumed I'd broken the femur rather than the hip and I think that's what you all thought too - I had to be transferred from a normal chair to a wheelchair contraption.

"You produced this tube [Entonox] and it really did help. Eventually when I got into the ambulance I had to be transferred on to this bed and I remember saying to Nicole - your colleague - 'I can’t do this, I can’t do this'.

"She was very, very cool and said ‘no, you really can, just take some more gas’. I was breathing it in as much as I could and she was right, eventually it did happen."

Faye, who was driving the ambulance for Iain's call out, said although she found that part of the job fun, she was very wary having Iain in the back.

"When I had you in the back, I didn’t want to go over speed bumps too hard because you were already in a lot of pain and would’ve felt it so much more," she said.

Despite the pair having had to mature a lot quicker taking on the job at a young age, they said they "really enjoy" working for the NHS and are "excited for the future".

Iain ended saying: "Thank you very much for what you did for me."

Iain Dale reunited with NHS staff who cam to his rescue at Charing Cross Station

Politicians, royals, doctors and nurses were among those at a special service at Westminster Abbey today, marking the anniversary.

Amanda Pritchard, chief executive of the NHS in England, paid tribute to the "constant" compassion of the service's 1.4 million staff but acknowledged the "enormous challenges" faced by workers, including the record demand for services and the backlog of care.

The event honoured NHS staff and patients who have contributed to its remarkable journey. Joining the congregation of 1,500 health service staff, politicians, and NHS supporters were the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh.

The attendees had the privilege of witnessing the NHS's George Cross, bestowed upon the health service by the late Queen, as a recognition of the exemplary work carried out during the challenging times of the Covid-19 pandemic and throughout its history.