Praise for theatre staff after medical drama

QUICK-thinking theatre staff saved a man’s life after he wandered in off the street complaining of chest pain and went into cardiac arrest.

Jamie Marshall, 38, and Andrew Irving 42, were on duty at Newport’s Riverfront Theatre when a man walked into the foyer complaining of crushing chest pains.

John Higgins, 79, from Newport, a retired postal worker and BT engineer had popped into town on the bus when he began feeling unwell and headed to the river front for some fresh air.

Becoming worse and knowing something was badly wrong, John sought help by entering the nearby theatre, a place he’d never been before.

Jamie, of Usk, Monmouthshire, who was the Duty Manager of the Riverfront, said: “It was such a bizarre day.

“I’d been at the theatre for 17 years and it was my very last shift before leaving for a new role.

“I was sat on reception with Andrew going through a handover note when a gentleman walked in and presented himself to a colleague complaining of chest pains.

“He was dripping in sweat and asked them to call an ambulance.

“I was the trained first aider for the theatre and overheard this, so I came round the counter and spoke to the patient, who himself realised the signs of what may be happening.”

Married mother-of-two Jamie kept John as comfortable as possible whilst Andrew called 999 for help.

On advice of the call handler, the staff gave John some Aspirin and monitored his condition whilst an ambulance was arranged.

Jamie continued: “There were still public in the building so I asked John if he wanted to sit somewhere quieter and we moved to a more secluded spot.

“John said he wanted to lie down so I helped him to the floor, which in one way was a good thing as he said he didn’t feel well.

“His eyes rolled back in his head and his arms flung up into the air.

“I thought he was fitting so tried to put him in the recovery position – that’s when he stopped breathing.”

Jamie shouted for her colleague Andrew to call 999 again to report the change in condition and bring the theatre’s defibrillator.

The pair immediately attached the defibrillator to John’s chest and followed the verbal instructions it gave, shocking John once and then commencing Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR).

“I performed CPR for around a minute and a half when John started breathing again and came round,” said Jamie.

“He started asking me if I was okay and what I had done to him.”

John was taken to Cardiff’s University Hospital of Wales by ambulance where he underwent emergency surgery to fit a stent.

Now recovering well at home, widower John recalled the day: “The weather had been great in the weeks prior and I’d been up the allotment working a lot.

“Just the day before I mowed the grass, so I thought I’d have a quiet day and a nosey into town.

“I was on the bus wearing my facemask and my chest felt a bit tight.

“I blamed it on the mask and the crowded bus.

“Getting off the bus I wanted some fresh air so went down the river front but still didn’t feel good and even tried to be sick.

“I knew it wasn’t right so I walked into the theatre and asked them to call me an ambulance as I was having a heart attack.”

John is full of praise for Jamie, who he now calls his ‘born-again mother’ after she and Andrew saved his life.

“What they did was amazing, I can never thank them enough,” he said.

John also gives his thanks to the ambulance service and the medics at the hospital for their swift work.

Paramedics Stefan Cartwright and Laura Deabreu also attended and conveyed John to hospital where he underwent surgery to fit a stent.

“It happened about 11.25am and by 1.05pm I was being wheeled into the operating theatre in Cardiff,” he said.

“I know this because I looked up at the clock on the wall.

“Everybody there was fantastic and has given me a second chance and more time to spend with my daughter who has recently returned from living abroad.”

On scene within six minutes of the updated emergency call was Welsh Ambulance Service paramedic and Duty Operations Manager for Newport, Rob Nihan, who attended in a rapid response vehicle.

Rob said: “I arrived to find John lying on the floor and conversing.

“I noticed the defibrillator had been deployed and checked with Jamie and Andrew if they had shocked him or carried out CPR and began to check him over.

“They had done an amazing job and it really was quite remarkable to see a cardiac arrest patient so alert so quickly.

“This really does highlight the importance of all employers having a trained first aider and defibrillator on their premises as you never know when it may be needed to save a life.

“We thank everybody at the Riverfront who helped John that day and hope this encourages more businesses across Wales to ensure they have a medically trained person on site.”

Steve Ward, Chief Executive at Newport Live who run The Riverfront Theatre & Arts Centre said  “ We are extremely proud of the quick actions taken by Jamie, Andrew and the team at The Riverfront and the amazing support they gave to Mr Higgins.

“We recognise the importance of staff members being knowledgeable and confident in first aid, early CPR and defibrillation and ensure that we have members of our team trained at each of our sites, so that should anyone need emergency first aid while visiting us we can help them.  

“We are so pleased that John is recovering well and can’t wait to welcome him back to the theatre, he is an amazing man.”

Tomorrow (Saturday, October 16) is national Restart a Heart Day - an annual initiative led by the Resuscitation Council which aims to raise awareness of the importance of bystander CPR and also to train as many people as possible in CPR.

This month, the Welsh Ambulance Service is also running its annual Shoctober campaign which is designed to educate the public, particularly children and young people, about the importance of early CPR and defibrillation.

Search for @WelshAmbPECI or #Shoctober on Twitter for resources, including this animation for children.

Below are some facts to illustrate the importance of CPR and defibrillation:

• Over 30,000 people suffer cardiac arrests out of hospital in the UK every year. If this happens in front of a bystander who starts CPR immediately before the arrival of the ambulance, the patient’s chances of survival double.
• When someone has a cardiac arrest, survival chances drop 10% a minute if CPR is not started.
• Performing CPR keeps the blood flowing to vital organs such as the brain and increases the chances of the heart remaining in a ‘shockable’ rhythm until a defibrillator is used.
• A defibrillator, which delivers a controlled electric shock to stop the heart so that it can naturally return to a normal rhythm, can be used by anyone as the machine talks the user through what to do step-by-step.

Editor’s Note: Incident occurred on 10 September 2021 at around 11am.