The fast actions of a group of friends who began CPR immediately after a Sittingbourne man collapsed on the tennis court, have been credited with saving his life.
Tim was playing doubles tennis at a friend’s house in Lynsted, Kent on 26 May this year, when he suddenly felt faint and collapsed to the floor.
Witnessing his collapse, Tim’s friends immediately checked for a pulse, dialled 999 and began providing chest compressions under the guidance of Emergency Medical Advisor, (EMA), George Payne.
With around 30,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests happening each year in the UK, and fewer than one in 10 people surviving, the fact Tim’s cardiac arrest was witnessed, and CPR was commenced immediately proved critical to his survival.
In less than 10 minutes, multiple SECAmb ambulance crews were on scene, with Resource Dispatcher, Freya Eales and Dispatch Team Leader, Teresa Gibbs coordinating the response. The clinicians worked to support Tim’s airway and deliver advanced life support, and within 30 minutes of the 999 call, Tim had been resuscitated.
Tim went on to spend three weeks at Medway Maritime Hospital before a further stay at St Thomas’ Hospital in London, where he was fitted with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) which will deliver a shock to his heart should he experience any future cardiac arrests.
To say thank you, Tim, his wife, Madeleine and his doubles partners recently visited Medway Make Ready Centre, where they were reunited with some of the team involved in his care, including Paramedic, Angie, Associate Ambulance Practitioner, Molly, Operational Team Leader Michael, as well as EMA, George and dispatcher, Freya.
The group also enjoyed a behind-the-scenes tour of the facility, learning how the 999 call was handled and how multiple resources were dispatched to reach Tim as quickly as possible.
Speaking after the reunion, Tim said “I know I am incredibly lucky to be here today. If my friends hadn’t acted so quickly and started CPR straight away, I wouldn’t be here. I’m so grateful to them and to the ambulance team who gave me a second chance at life.”
Paramedic Angie said “Tim is incredibly lucky to be with us today, and that’s hugely down to his friends being able to deliver good quality chest compressions before our arrival. They are a great example of what can happen when the stars align.”
EMA, George added: “It was so rewarding to be able to meet Tim and his friends who made the 999 call to me that day. It’s incredibly rare that cardiac arrests have positive outcomes, and so to have a positive ending and to be able to come face to face with Tim was very special for me.”