Proving firefighters are never truly off duty, London Fire Brigade’s Stuart McDonald has been thanked after stepping in to assist a fellow passenger on board Wightlink’s catamaran service who had keeled over with severe chest pains.
Stuart – who lives on the Island – was among the final passengers who were disembarking from the last catamaran at Ryde Pier Head earlier this month when he noticed the man in front of him collapse.
With his training kicking in, Stuart started to give immediate emergency care – advanced first aid which included oxygen administration and defibrillation.
Luckily it was a case of the right person being in the right place at the right time and, concerned the man could have suffered a cardiac arrest, he was able to take control of the situation until paramedics from the Isle of Wight Ambulance Service arrived.
Stuart said:
“It was late at night and as I walked around the corner I saw the gentleman suddenly clutch his chest and go down.
“I went over to him with one of the Wightlink ferry guys and sat him down on a chair. I was on the phone to the ambulance service and thankfully I’d already done the things they were asking me to do, such as ask about his medical history and feel for a pulse, which was quite faint and rapid.
“I’d also asked someone to fetch a defibrillator and open it up because I thought we might well need to use it.
Article continues below this advertisement “It was freezing so we took the gentleman to a café where it was warmer and then stayed with him until the ambulance arrived. Because it was so late at night there were hardly any people about and if he hadn’t been seen it could have been a lot worse. Luckily I just happened to be in the right place at the right time.”
Wightlink contacted the London Fire Brigade earlier this week to thank Stuart for his actions and he is now set to meet company bosses for a special presentation later this month.
The gentleman was admitted to A&E at St Mary’s Hospital but was thankfully later discharged.
