Off-duty paramedic came to aid of young girl who was dragged from the sea
AN OFF-duty paramedic who helped save the life of a school girl has been commended for his quick and selfless actions.
Gino Matrella, 60, of Portstewart, Chepstow, was enjoying a day out at Porthcawl beach with his family last summer when a friend alerted him to two teenage boys dragging a young girl out of the sea.
Gino ran down to the shore where he instinctively began to assess the girl, who had been sucked underwater.
“I asked the boys to lay her down flat on her back away from the water so I could begin checking her vital signs,” said Gino.
“I noticed her pulse was very slow and her breathing wasn’t there and thought, ‘we are in serious trouble here’.
“Luckily she brought up some clear fluid, which is a good sign.”
Shouting for the lifeguard and for an ambulance to be called, Gino continued to monitor the girl and brought her inland as the tide was rising.
He said: “I really needed some equipment there and the lifeguard arrived quickly with some oxygen.
“As I moved her up the beach, she was still not conscious but her pupils were beginning to contract to a normal diameter.
“I remember trying to keep her warm and monitor very closely her vital signs, which thankfully were returning.”
The emergency services had been called, and first on scene were the Welsh Ambulance Service’s highly-skilled Hazardous Area Response Team (HART) who took over command of the situation.
Gino said: “When my colleagues arrived, I went to comfort the girl’s mother who was naturally very upset and explained to her what was happening and that her daughter was improving.”
The HART team have specialist ‘Swiftwater’ rescue training and are fully equipped to deal with water-based incidents.
HART’s Robert Huish, who is based at Brynmenyn, Bridgend, was the first on-duty medic to arrive.
He said: “It was a boiling hot day and the beach was packed.
“Gino had done a lot of the hard work and when we arrived we had all the right tools to do the job.
“My team of Mark Williams, Mrinal Srivastava and Bob Reynolds were able to treat the young lady whilst I managed the scene, comforted the family, and coordinated the arrival of our team on the air ambulance.
“The family were very lucky that day that Gino was in the right place at the right time.
“It was such a simple accident but no matter how calm water looks it is always unpredictable, powerful and relentless.
“The family were very lucky that day and we are glad it was a positive outcome for the young lady.”
Gino has been presented with a Chief Executive’s Commendation for his actions by the Welsh Ambulance Service’s Jason Killens.
Jason said: “Our frontline staff are never really off-duty.
“Whilst enjoying precious time with his own family, Gino instinctively stepped in to help another family and his years of experience helped achieve the best outcome for the young girl.
“I am always proud of our staff and enjoy recognising our staff with a commendation when such extraordinary events occur.”
Gino, who is originally from Rome, Italy, and came to Wales as a young man to learn the language has been in the Welsh Ambulance Service for 37 years.
On accepting his commendation, Gino said: “I am happy to accept this recognition and wish to pay tribute to all my colleagues who attended that day.
“It was a bit of a blur, but dealing with situations like this is not out of the ordinary for me.
“It is what I do.
“But, it remains absolutely vital that members of the public are aware of CPR and even how to use a defibrillator for when emergencies occur in public or at work.”
Editor’s Note
The incident occurred on 19 July 2021.