Basingstoke resident, Barry Crawford, visited the local ambulance station at the end of last month to say thank you to the team that saved his life last November.
It was very early in the morning of 7 November 2023 when Barry’s wife, Alison, was woken by what she thought was a very loud snore from her sleeping husband. However, when she went to encourage Barry to roll over, she realised something was terribly wrong.
“He was completely rigid when I nudged him”, remembers Alison. “I tried slapping his face to wake him up but that didn’t work and he continued making this very strange noise.”
Alison dialled 999 and spoke to emergency call taker, Molly Maguire, who was on shift at the South Central Ambulance Service’s clinical coordination centre in Otterbourne. Recognising the seriousness of Barry’s symptoms, Molly talked Alison through how to carry out CPR, or chest compressions, on her husband.
Working with her colleague on the Hampshire despatch team, Tamsin Vaughn, help was immediately sent to the family home with the first ambulance, crewed by paramedic Chloe Woodward and emergency care assistant, Daryl Jorsling, arriving in just over four minutes.
Chloe and Daryl were soon joined by a second ambulance crew, paramedic and trainee specialist practitioner, Luke Bawden, and emergency care assistant, Kayleigh Philips, as well as by paramedic team leader, Richard Miller, who arrived a short time later in a rapid response vehicle.
The team confirmed Barry was suffering a cardiac arrest, and the sounds Alison had been woken up by was in fact agonal breathing – a common occurrence in people suffering a cardiac arrest when a lack of oxygen causes a gasping effect.
It took six shocks with a defibrillator for the team to achieve ROSC (return of spontaneous circulation), a palpable pulse, but Barry was still in a life-threatening condition as they also confirmed he was suffering a significant heart attack. Further advanced life support treatment was provided to Barry by the team both at home and on the way to hospital.
Barry subsequently underwent double heart bypass surgery at the Royal Brompton Hospital at the end of March, and completed a cardiac rehabilitation programme at Basingstoke Hospital. Once recovered he was very keen along with Alison, to say thank you to the SCAS team face-to-face.
Barry said: “It was important for me to come and say thank you to the amazing team who saved my life and it was a very special, and emotional, meeting for Alison and I. To put it bluntly, I wouldn’t be here today without them and we are both so grateful for what they did for us, and what they continue to do for others. They will all be in our hearts for ever.”
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