A community first responder has been praised for “almost certainly saving” the life of a man in his village by attending a 999 call about chest pains near the end of his shift.
Volunteer Phil Fuller had gone round to check on Robert McWilliams, 75, when the patient suffered a heart attack at home in Hillbridge, near South Woodham Ferrers.
Mr. Fuller began a round of CPR and shocked the patient with a defibrillator before backup arrived, with Mr. McWilliams going on to make a full recovery.
“I remember Phil vividly but not much and I don’t know what would have happened if he hadn’t been there,” said Mr McWilliams, who recently met Mr Fuller and the ambulance team that carried him. Helped.
“Thankfully, he was and they worked amazingly together to save my life.”
“I can’t praise the team enough for saving my life and it was great to meet them all.”
Mr Fuller, who is an emergency care assistant at the East of England Ambulance Service, was about to finish his voluntary shift at midnight on October 17 when the 999 call came in at 23:45 BST.
The ambulance service said he contacted the dispatcher to say he would attend because it was only a short drive from his home – a decision which “almost certainly saved Mr McWilliams’ life”. “, said the ambulance service.
The patient was experiencing chest discomfort and pain, which worsened and woke him up the night of the call.
In 10 minutes, Mr. Fuller figured it out, and 15 minutes later the heart attack occurred.
Two ambulances, and an ambulance officer’s car attended, Mr McWilliams was taken to Basildon Hospital’s Essex Cardiothoracic Center for treatment.
Mr Fuller said he was “very grateful” he was able to be there when Mr McWilliams went into cardiac arrest and use his training.
“It’s quite emotional and a great feeling knowing you’ve saved someone’s life,” he added.
“I was a community first responder before joining the ambulance service, and I love every moment of working and volunteering for my community.”
Claire Ruddy, who manages the community response in Essex, said the service was under “significant pressure” at the time, and Mr McWilliams would not have had to intervene in time if Mr Fuller had not attended.