BOARD TO DEATH

CHARACTERS

Mrs Waddington - late 50s respectable lady
Driver - Female Ambulance Driver
Medic - Female Ambulance Medic
Doctor - Male Doctor
Operator - Female Telephone Operator

OPERATOR: (D) Which emergency service do you require, fire brigade,
police or ambulance?

MRS WADDINGTON: Ambulance, it's my husband, he's hurt. I don't know what to
do. I can't wake him up. He's lying on the floor. There's
blood. Please help send someone quickly.

OPERATOR: (D) I need your name and address.

MRS WADDINGTON: Waddington. We live at Park Lane.

OPERATOR: (D) I need you to be more specific.

MRS WADDINGTON: Go past the jail, down Regent Street, past Liverpool Street
Station.

OPERATOR: (D) We'll send someone straight away.

MRS WADDINGTON: Please hurry.

F/X: PHONE GOES DOWN AND FADE OUT TO SOUND
OF AMBULANCE SIRENS, PEOPLE LEAVING
CAR, KNOCKING ON DOOR AND DOOR OPENING

DRIVER: Mrs Waddington?

MRS WADDINGTON: Yes. Thank God you’re here.

MEDIC: Where is he?

MRS WADDINGTON: He’s in the study. Follow me.

F/X: SOUND OF RUNNING THROUGH HOUSE, DOOR
OPENING

DRIVER: Can you tell me what happened?

MRS WADDINGTON: He was coming in to get the candlesticks. They were up on
the shelf they must have fallen on him. When I heard the
crash I came in and found him on the floor.

MEDIC: He's breathing, but unconscious, we need to get him in the
ambulance.

MRS WADDINGTON: I’ll follow you.

F/X: FADE TO AMBULANCE SIRENS COMING FROM

INSIDE AN AMBULANCE

DRIVER: Has he got a pulse?

MEDIC: Yes but he's bleeding badly (pause) we're out of big
bandages.

DRIVER: What!!

MEDIC: We’ve only got a box of small ones.

DRIVER: Just join some together.

MEDIC: How many?

DRIVER: I don’t know. Just connect 4.

MEDIC: That's got it.

F/X: SOUND OF AMBULANCE STOPPING AND DOORS
OPENING.

MEDIC: We need a doctor! Quick!

DOCTOR: What have we got?

MEDIC: Male, late 40s, serious injury to the cranium.

DOCTOR: Blood pressure 110 over 60. Pupils dilated. He doesn’t look
too good. We need to get him into theatre now.

DRIVER: I’ll go and see his wife.

F/X: SOUND OF A HEART RATE MONITOR INSIDE
OPERATING THEATRE

DOCTOR: Ok, I think I've stopped the bleeding, nurse some suction
please I can't see. There seems to be a funny bone in there,
I need to remove it. (pause) It's really tricky, can't quite get to
it, nearly there’¦ nearly there.

F/X: SOUND OF A LOUD BUZZER GOING OFF

DOCTOR: Damn!

F/X: FADE TO GENERAL BACKGROUND SOUND OF
HOSPITAL WAITING ROOM

MRS WADDINGTON: They're taking a long time it's such a frustration.

DRIVER: Patience Mrs Waddington, I realise you're worried.

F/X: SOUND OF DOOR OPENING

DOCTOR: Mrs Waddington?

MRS WADDINGTON: Yes. Yes Doctor. Is my husband all right?

DOCTOR: (Pause) Sorry.

F/X: SOUND OF WOMAN SOBBING

MRS WADDINGTON: It's so unfair. I loved him. You don't care. You think this is
just a game.