An unfortunately memorable bus journey

iainment

I was on the 51 bus this morning and an elderly gentleman took very ill. The driver called an emergency on his radio and was very good at taking charge of the situation. Last I saw from the replacement bus that was sent was the elderly gent on the floor receiving vigorous cpr from the ambulance paramedics.
I don't think he made it.
And there was nothing I could do.
Although it was worst for the poor woman sitting next to him at first who was trapped in her seat when he took ill.
I feel quite weird after.

I think I'll get First Aid training.

cafcdave123

iainment said:

I was on the 51 bus this morning and an elderly gentleman took very ill. The driver called an emergency on his radio and was very good at taking charge of the situation. Last I saw from the replacement bus that was sent was the elderly gent on the floor receiving vigorous cpr from the ambulance paramedics.
I don't think he made it.
And there was nothing I could do.
Although it was worst for the poor woman sitting next to him at first who was trapped in her seat when he took ill.
I feel quite weird after.

I think I'll get First Aid training.

if the guy didnt make it after vigorous cpr from the ambulance paramedics, i doubt there is very much you could have done.

as sad as it is mate, sometimes its just their bus pulling into the depo...

Lincsaddick

getting trained in basic first aid is a good idea .. one never knows when it will come in useful

BowieAddick

A couple of weeks ago in Hayes a guy had a massive heart attack whilst riding his bike, it happened right outside my sisters house. One of my nephews spotted him laying in the road from his bedroom window and shouted for my sister she went out and checked the guy and found no pulse.
She called out my other nephew (former Royal Marine) and he performed CPR until the paramedics arrived, a couple of days later they were told the guy was on life support and wouldn't make it in the words of the doctor his body was shutting down.
The next day a knock at the door and two men introduced themselves as his brothers, the guy had woken up and was now expected to make a recovery. My sister has since spoken to his partner who told her the doctors said without the actions of my nephew he would never have survived.
I know he was trained to a very high standard but it makes you realise that knowing what to do can make such a huge difference in a whole family's lives.
Hence my sister, my daughter and I are signing up for first aid courses.

Lincsaddick

^^^ @BowieAddick .. a great story and emphasises the efficacy of a good first aid knowledge

nth_london_addick

About 9 years ago , I was on my way home from work when the car in front had not moved on although the traffic had in front of it, I got out instead of beeping like all the others and found an old gentleman very much dead in his seat, I got quite annoyed at the man behind me who had got our effing and blinding and told him that the bloke is dead,

I wanted to do the CPR I had been trained to do as a first aider at work but this guy had a tube in his throat and I didn't know where to start, I was on the phone to 999 the lady told me to look for a tag on his necklace, it simple said do not attempt to resuscitate thank you

people kept trying to look at him so I took my coat off and covered the door, whilst getting more annoyed with people getting impatient that they were delayed,

I think of that man quite often Iainment so you will feel how you do unfortunately

Algarveaddick

We were walking towards our friends bar earlier in the year and saw an ambulance outside - we assumed a tourist had had too much sun. As we walked past we could see that someone was on the ground getting CPR, but moved straight into the bar not wishing to gawp at the poor fella. Alfredo the owner then dashed in and told us it was our friend Pedro on the ground. Half an hour later they gave up on the CPR and covered him over. One of the worst experiences of my life.

Leroy Ambrose

Earlier this year I was behind a car in Sutton that was lurching along, then veered onto the pavement and crashed into a fence (luckily only at about ten mph). Me and my pal jumped out and checked on the guy - he was having a fit. Managed to get him out onto the pavement and into recovery position and he came round ok... but was a bit hairy watching him thump into that fence.

Jayajosh

My dad is an ex fireman and saved the life of a German guy on a beach in Spain by carrying out CPR. Never been so proud of my dad for doing this, a real hero. I think CPR
should be taught to all teenagers at school.

ShootersHillGuru

I can never understand why basic first aid and resus are not taught in schools from primary onwards. If this were to happen by the time kids left school they would be quite proficient.

ShootersHillGuru

It's also a very sad fact that 99% of arrests that occur outside of the hospital setting result in death.

Jayajosh

ShootersHillGuru said:

I can never understand why basic first aid and resus are not taught in schools from primary onwards. If this were to happen by the time kids left school they would be quite proficient.

I agree, and might even give the wayward kids some responsibility in life. Online petition?

McBobbin

A few years ago on the A12 I saw a car on the other side clip the central reservation, cross three lanes go up the bank and hit a bridge. Old guy who died instantly - the air ambulance happened to be overhead and they could do nothing. Seeing someone die or probably die is one of those things that you'll never forget

tangoflash

ShootersHillGuru said:

I can never understand why basic first aid and resus are not taught in schools from primary onwards. If this were to happen by the time kids left school they would be quite proficient.

Not for one minute saying this is the case, but the problem is everyone is worried about being sued these days. Schools can ill afford to be having blame passed back down to them, ending in a lawsuit.
There have been cases in the past where the life saver has been sued because the victim had ended up brain damaged, due to a stavation of oxegen. This was probably not due to anything he/she had done as they may possibly have arrived on the scene after a minute or two, but it seems we need to blame someone.
Despite this, it wouldn't stop me if I came across someone who needed resussitating.
I was taught first aid whilst in the Army and have attended 3 or 4 refresher courses for various organisations since. Thankfully, I've never found myself in a situation to use it, but am ready to do so if the situation should ever arise and I urge anyone out there to contact your local St Johns and attend a course. If it happens to a friend, loved one or even a total stranger whilst you're just passing, you'll be so glad you did...............

DRAddick

iainment said:

I was on the 51 bus this morning and an elderly gentleman took very ill. The driver called an emergency on his radio and was very good at taking charge of the situation. Last I saw from the replacement bus that was sent was the elderly gent on the floor receiving vigorous cpr from the ambulance paramedics.
I don't think he made it.
And there was nothing I could do.
Although it was worst for the poor woman sitting next to him at first who was trapped in her seat when he took ill.
I feel quite weird after.

I think I'll get First Aid training.

Chin up, you never know. You can't really tell if someone 'made it' when they're getting CPR. CPR isn't about bringing someone "back to life" like you see in the movies, that is extreme luck and practically never happens. It's about doing the bodies work for it until machines and drugs can be used.

Instead of wasting numerous hours on crap like algebra and quadratic equations that practically no-one uses after school, I agree first aid should be taught in schools.

paulsturgess

Similar thing happened to me a few years ago. Was walking down the street back home and came across this old-ish woman passed out on the street struggling to breathe. Pretty sure it was a heart attack. Watched paramedics attempt to resuscitate unsuccessfully. Still not got round to doing any sort of first aid training which is appalling really.

Hartleypete

ShootersHillGuru said:

I can never understand why basic first aid and resus are not taught in schools from primary onwards. If this were to happen by the time kids left school they would be quite proficient.

Yeah my thoughts exactly, when you think of some of the crap they teach which will never be any real good to anybody.

Some decent first aid training throughout schooling could save many life's.

cfgs

All public transport should have a defib on them at the very least.

Red Riding Hoodie

You can sign up to St Johns Ambulance from age 6 - Badgers, then Cadets. Its a bit like Brownies and Guides only first aid based. My sister did it for 10 years, only stopping when she did her GCSEs and into further education. She amassed stacks of voluntary hours servicing the likes of the London marathon, football matches and theatres. Honestly think if you teach it at a young age it sticks with you. I'm first aid at work trained but would feel more confident with her by my side in the event of an incident than a fellow first aider.

JorgeCosta

cfgs said:

All public transport should have a defib on them at the very least.

My mate (who was a radiographer at the Brook at the time) was on a bus at Mottingham station when a call went up for a first aider. It was a baby who was having a seizure. My mate did cpr until a passing police patrol arrived to help and an ambulance turned up (less than 10 mins). Unfortunately the baby died. My mate was commended by the coroner for his actions but to this day he blames himself.

The only positive to come out of it is that it spurred my mate to train as a doctor so that he could save lives.

Leroy Ambrose

DRAddick said:

iainment said:

I was on the 51 bus this morning and an elderly gentleman took very ill. The driver called an emergency on his radio and was very good at taking charge of the situation. Last I saw from the replacement bus that was sent was the elderly gent on the floor receiving vigorous cpr from the ambulance paramedics.
I don't think he made it.
And there was nothing I could do.
Although it was worst for the poor woman sitting next to him at first who was trapped in her seat when he took ill.
I feel quite weird after.

I think I'll get First Aid training.

Chin up, you never know. You can't really tell if someone 'made it' when they're getting CPR. CPR isn't about bringing someone "back to life" like you see in the movies, that is extreme luck and practically never happens. It's about doing the bodies work for it until machines and drugs can be used.

Instead of wasting numerous hours on crap like algebra and quadratic equations that practically no-one uses after school, I agree first aid should be taught in schools.

Hold on - I use quants regularly in my job. Just because you don't, doesn't mean they're not useful. In fact, I used distribution of primes literally today to solve a problem at work. I'd argue that people would be better off learning CPR than doing drama. Now THAT is truly useless.

TEL

BowieAddick said:

A couple of weeks ago in Hayes a guy had a massive heart attack whilst riding his bike, it happened right outside my sisters house. One of my nephews spotted him laying in the road from his bedroom window and shouted for my sister she went out and checked the guy and found no pulse.
She called out my other nephew (former Royal Marine) and he performed CPR until the paramedics arrived, a couple of days later they were told the guy was on life support and wouldn't make it in the words of the doctor his body was shutting down.
The next day a knock at the door and two men introduced themselves as his brothers, the guy had woken up and was now expected to make a recovery. My sister has since spoken to his partner who told her the doctors said without the actions of my nephew he would never have survived.
I know he was trained to a very high standard but it makes you realise that knowing what to do can make such a huge difference in a whole family's lives.
Hence my sister, my daughter and I are signing up for first aid courses.

Lovely story....I think its time I did the the training too...

AFKABartram

Indeed.

AMD sitting here late at night I question why the hell this is not forced upon us ?

At my work it is compulsory I complete things annually like data protection etc. Why the hell is it not compulsory I.complete something meaningful, and be made to repeat it.every five years ?

nth_london_addick

The wife and I done a child first aid course as well as a standard version when my daughter was born


Think all people should do it

AFKABartram

I did CPR with my Level A badge 5/6 years ago.

Can't remember anything if I'm honest which is why I think it should he repeated

guinnessaddick

Using a defib unit you have something like 90% chance of pulling through, using CPR it's something like 9%. It's a no brainer for companies, we have been trying to get one for work, the cost is about £1500 plus training.

I've been a first wider for years, only real action I've had was a wedding, when a little bridesmaid fell off a wall and split her forehead open. Also one of the girls at work banged the back of her head. Whilst checking her head, I told her that her roots needed doing, she replied "Fook off". Told her that was my check for concussion.

I've also downloading the St. John's first aid app for my phone. So if and when I'm called into action, I won't forget bits.

kigelia

Some interesting stories. Would encourage all to learn some basic first aid. As for CPR the chest compressions are the key. If you are not trained the 999 call handlers will talk you through it. Also check out the vinny jones advert it Is very good.

I am still only a few years into my ambulance career but the only patients that I have managed to get back (with the help of colleagues) from cardiac arrest are those where those on scene have started CPR before we got there.

Solidgone

AFKABartram said:

Indeed.

AMD sitting here late at night I question why the hell this is not forced upon us ?

At my work it is compulsory I complete things annually like data protection etc. Why the hell is it not compulsory I.complete something meaningful, and be made to repeat it.every five years ?

It normally all boils down to cost. I agree that this kind of training should be compulsory - I've trained as a first aider sometime ago but this has prompted me to renew my training. But who would pick up the tab?

BTW - you can download a first aide app.

Stig

guinnessaddick said:

...I've been a first wider for years...

Great one for the one-letter thread ;-)

guinnessaddick

Stig said:

guinnessaddick said:

...I've been a first wider for years...

Great one for the one-letter thread ;-)

Bloody autocorrect, lol.

However it was true, then I lost 3 st this year, so it's not now.

Curb_It

There was an old guy on the floor outside the pub a few months back and I realised my first Aid skills weren't up to scratch. Stood and watched while others helped. Turned out he was on the floor because he was pissed. Still I went and booked myself a refresher. Y

I went to Charlton house as they do courses out of there now. That was back in august and i feel like I've already forgotten it.