Jamie Arrowsmith – Monday 15th May 2023 – 10.40am.
A man who suffered a cardiac arrest, shortly after having a heart attack, has been reunited with the ambulance crew who came to his aid.
Jim Crosswell, from Bedworth, was walking home on 16th February when he began experiencing chest pains, but thankfully was able to call 999 on his mobile phone before collapsing in the street.
Having just booked on duty at Coventry Hub, an ambulance crew consisting of Jason Hardcastle (paramedic), Simon Lees (technician) and Holly Castle (student paramedic from Coventry University) arrived quickly on the scene, to find Jim clutching on to a wall and clearly in a serious condition.
The crew quickly diagnosed that Jim was having a heart attack and began treatment whilst rapidly transferring him to University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire.
However, Jim’s conditioned worsened enroute to hospital as he suffered a cardiac arrest, but thankfully the quick actions of Jason, Simon and Holly meant they quickly restarted his heart.
Jim rearrested a number of times whilst transferring to the Emergency Department at hospital, where hospital staff worked with the ambulance crew to restart his heart once again.
Jim, and his son Paul, are under no doubt the actions of the ambulance crew saved his life that day, and they were thrilled to be reunited recently, to say thank you, pass on gifts and ultimately learn more about the day that understandably, is one the patient has very little recollection of.
Jim said: “It was only right that we say thanks for the very special and selfless work the NHS as a whole do, every day and for saving my life.
“We will always forever grateful for the opportunity to spend more time together as a family.
“To have an ambulance service whose staff are as dedicated, motivated and compassionate in caring for others, when they are at their lowest and most vulnerable time, is incredibly reassuring.”
Coventry Operations Manager, Steve Hargreaves, said: “It was a very special and emotive moment for Jim and Paul to meet and speak to the very people that, in their opinion, were angels.
“A very big well done to the crew for the excellent level of care they provided in this case.
“What is of particularly note is that for Holly, this was the first time she had witnessed this clinical scenario and level of treatment so it was fantastic that were all able to see Jim in hospital, albeit briefly, later that day, sitting up looking a lot better than he did when they had been called out to him earlier in the day.”
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Notes to Editors:
Pictured (L-R) – Paul Crosswell (son of patient); Jason Hardcastle (paramedic), Jim Crosswell (patient); Holly Castle (student paramedic), Simon Lees (technician). If used, please credit the image to West Midlands Ambulance Service.