Tuesday 24th March 2015 – 3.30pm – Claire Brown.
Staff from a train maintenance company in Wolverhampton have been praised by the ambulance service for helping to save the life of a colleague.
On the 3rd November last year, a member of staff collapsed and suffered a cardiac arrest at Alstom in Wolverhampton. The quick thinking of three members of staff ultimately helped to save their colleagues life.
Andy Wall, a Senior Production Manager, is 49 and has worked for Alstom for 27 years. He recalled what happened that morning: “We were sitting in the office when one of our staff members ran in to tell us that a colleague had collapsed. I went round and saw him on the floor gasping for breath. Russell and Barry quickly joined me and as they assessed him, I went to call 999.”
Barry Parkes, 49, is one of the members of the Train Maintenance teams and has worked for Alstom for 14 years. Like many other staff, Barry is a trained First Aider.
Russell Rowley, 42 and a Health and Safety Manager, had only worked at the Traincare Centre for a week and said: “Being my first week at the company I didn’t really know many people and didn’t know Barry, Andy or the gentleman who had collapsed very well. But nevertheless, whilst Barry stayed with him, I ran to get the defibrillator from the office.
“When I came back, he had stopped breathing. As he’d collapsed in an awkward position by a table and some chairs, Barry and I had to quickly pull him clear so that I could start CPR. Whilst I did CPR Barry opened up the defibrillator to get it ready. No sooner had we started CPR than we were joined by a paramedic who told us to keep doing resuscitation whilst he got his medical equipment out.”
The paramedic shocked the man’s heart on scene and, thanks to the efforts of the trio, the man started to breathe for himself. He was taken to New Cross Hospital for emergency treatment and has since made a full recovery.
Andy Jeynes, the Trust’s Community Response Manager, visited Alstom on Wednesday 18th March to present commendations to recognise their fantastic achievement. Andy said: “The actions of Andy, Russell and Barry are extremely commendable as saving a life is the best gift you can give. This case just shows how important early CPR is when someone is in cardiac arrest. If it hadn’t been for their decisive actions, the outcome would’ve almost certainly been less positive.
“The quicker you start CPR and shock a patient in cardiac arrest with a defibrillator, the better the chances they have of surviving.”
Richard Woodroofe, Operations Director for Alstom said: “Thankfully situations like these are few and far between in the business but the training and the speed of response of our staff in conjunction with the paramedics made the difference. It’s an amazing achievement and we’re extremely grateful for Andy, Barry and Russell’s prompt actions.”
ENDS
Notes to Editor:
Picture of two – Barry Parkes being presented with commendation by colleague.
Picture of three (kneeling down) – Andy Wall, Andy Jeynes and Russell Rowley