QUICK-THINKING staff at Pershore Leisure Centre who saved the life of a gym-goer in a dramatic incident have been honoured by West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS).
Stuart Oakley, Stephen Burgess and Lorna Brooks were commended by the service for their skills and rapid response during the incident which took place earlier this year.
The gym-goer, who doesn’t wish to be named, collapsed and was in considerable distress as staff lept into action.
It quickly became apparent that CPR and a defibrillator would be necessary to treat the patient before paramedics arrived and Stuart, a duty manager at the centre, said his team responded extremely well.
“The training we receive, along with keeping a defibrillator at the centre, enabled us to save somebody’s life,” he said.
“It was a tremendous team effort from everybody involved and we’re delighted that the gentleman has made a full recovery.”
As a result of their brave efforts, the life-savers have won praise from WMAS chiefs, based in Brierley Hill, who commended the stafff for their ‘professional actions’.
Their work continued alongside paramedics and ambulance chiefs praised the trio for working ‘calmly and effectively alongside the paramedic crew’.
The letter also commends the staff for their ‘excellent cardiopulmonary resuscitation’.
All lifeguards, fitness instructors and duty managers receive regular CPR traning at Rivers Fitness to ensure they could act in the event of an emergency.
Pershore Leisure Centre also keeps its own defibrillator on site.
As well as making a full recovery, the rapid response from Stuart, Stephen and Lorna has even meant the man has returned to the gym.
