Cardiac attack Jon saved by workmates
PROMPT action by two civil servants saved the life of their colleague when he suffered a cardiac arrest and led to the two men receiving awards from the St John Ambulance Emergency Service for their response.
Two ambulance crew who attended were also recognised for the roles they played.
Education Services head of resources Jon Williams, 50, was working at his desk in Frossard House when he started to feel faint. ‘I knew I was in trouble,’ said Mr Williams, who has a congenital heart condition.
He collapsed, and that was when his colleagues Colin Vaudin and Chris Welsby put their first aid training into action.
Mr Vaudin was only a few metres away when he saw Mr Williams was in difficulty. ‘Literally, within 10 seconds Chris and I were on him,’ he said.
‘Because he was still breathing we put him into the recovery position,’ said Mr Welsby, a trained first aider who had previously served with the Royal Navy.
‘But he very quickly stopped breathing.’
The two men began administering CPR (cardiopulmonary respiration), and kept this up until the ambulance arrived.
Mr Vaudin, a retired army officer with first aid training, said that he had expected to be stood down at this point, but instead he and Mr Welsby continued to assist with Mr Vaudin helping by clearing shocked colleagues from the floor.
In cardiac arrest situations it is normal for the Fire and Rescue Service to attend, too, and firefighters from Green Watch were thanked for their role as co-responders.
It was 45 minutes before the ambulance crew of Dom Fletcher and Nick Peters were satisfied that Mr Williams had recovered sufficiently to be transferred to the Accident and Emergency Department at the PEH.
Mr Williams said that he can remember little about what happened, and woke up in the resuscitation bay at the hospital: ‘I thought “well, I’ve made it,”,’ he said.
He said he had never lost consciousness before due to his heart condition and he had been feeling fine right up to the point where he suffered the arrest: ‘It was just one of those things,’ he said. ‘It was just unlucky.
‘I am so grateful to Colin and Chris and to everyone else involved. If it was not for their combined efforts I would not be here today.’
Mr Welby and Mr Vaudin, Mr Fletcher and Mr Peters were each presented with the Chief Officers’ Recognition of Performance Awards by St John Emergency Ambulance Service chief officer Ali Marquis and chairman of the board Steve Le Page.
THE sooner CPR can start on someone who has suffered a cardiac arrest, the better the chances of survival, said one of the St John Emergency Ambulance team who helped Jon Williams after his collapse at Frossard House.
Emergency Medical Technician Nick Peters and paramedic Dom Fletcher were the first emergency personnel on the scene, and arrived to find Colin Vaudin and Chris Welsby already giving CPR to Mr Williams.
‘When the call came in it was just that someone had collapsed,’ said Mr Peters, adding that while they were on their way it became clear that it was a cardiac arrest and they called in extra assistance from the Fire and Rescue Service, enabling all of those involved to give high performance CPR.
Mr Williams also suffered from CPR induced consciousness, which meant that he attempted to fight off those who were trying to help, and had to be restrained, adding to the challenge.
The CPR continued even after Mr Williams was taken out of his office: ‘They were still giving CPR in the ambulance,’ said Mr Vaudin. ‘Half an hour later Jon was sitting up and having a cup of tea.’
As well Mr Vaudin and Mr Welsby receiving Chief Officer’s Recognition of Performance Awards, so too did Mr Peters and Mr Fletcher.
‘Both Dom, as the senior clinician responsible on scene, and Nick remained calm and managed these challenges with professionalism,’ said St John EAS chief officer Ali Marquis .
‘They were relentless in their efforts to care for Jon, who regained consciousness in the Emergency Department after approximately 45 minutes of high performance CPR.’
Mr Williams was able to resume work on a part-time basis in February and recently went back full-time.
He said that his 50th year will not be one he forgets in a hurry: ‘I went to see Kylie, drove a Lamborghini and had a cardiac arrest.’
