a bout of food poisoning puts most of the rté radio staff out of action. tom is under immense strain trying to find replacements for morning radio with derek mooney covering for pat kenny on radio 1 and television presenter michael ryan the only staff member available to step in for gerry ryan over on 2fm. with ireland's health service in crisis, an ambulance is nowhere to be found so the trolleys begin to pile up at rté headquarters. miriam o'callaghan attempts to cheer up the stricken patients but her efforts only serve to worsen the situation. things go from bad to worse when labour party leader pat rabbitte, who is due for an interview, learns that derek mooney is doing pat kenny's show whilst on air, mooney mistakes finance minister brian cowen for health minister mary harney at what she does best – moaning. with rabbitte having abandoned the interview, tom must find a replacement with only joan burton available to fill in his shoes. george hook is found in a stairwell and offers to help out, but tom refuses. when he learns that the crisis was triggered by the sausages in the rté canteen, george plies joe duffy with sausage rolls thus adding him to the list of casualties. with "liveline" on a commercial break, tom has no choice but to allow george to take over the show. it is then decided that radio 1 and 2fm should run a simultaneous broadcast to ease the pressures of finding new presenters. finally, an ambulance arrives but a row erupts over who should be the first to go to hospital with pat kenny claiming that, as the highest paid broadcaster, he should be allowed to leave immediately. gerry ryan and joe duffy are non-too pleased and, as all this is going on, the ambulance drives off with burton inside, moaning about the pains in her legs from standing around in the confusion.