Like Batman responding to the bat-signal, a local hero has answered the call to not just save the day but the life of a driver having a heart attack.
When NSW father Alan Thomas’ car rolled to a stop on his way to the shops one Sunday, a woman driving behind him realised something was terribly wrong.
As a call to triple-0 sparked an emergency response from paramedics, it also set off another alert to an off-duty medic who was just across the road.
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NSW Ambulance flight nurse Adam Waddington was going about his own business when he received a notification on his phone and rushed in to help.
“I just happened to be nearby,” Waddington said.
“Because someone had called triple-0, I was able to respond and help straight away.”
Waddington had registered to GoodSAM, a program in partnership NSW Ambulance which alerts strangers in the vicinity who are willing to perform chest compressions in a crisis.
Before the ambulance arrived, Waddington was already performing CPR on Thomas — who survived and is now looking forward to his daughter’s wedding.
Thomas — who was yesterday reunited with his saviours, off-duty nurse Waddington and quick-acting fellow driver Paula Morched — thanked everyone who rushed to his aid.
“I’ve been given my life back and I’ll now be there to walk my daughter down the aisle,” he said.
Thomas is just one of the 100 people who have been saved by local heroes responding to GoodSAM alerts in NSW.
“When someone suffers a cardiac arrest outside of hospital, those first few minutes are critical and early CPR can significantly improve their chance of survival,” NSW Ambulance interim chief executive Clare Beech said.
Thomas was driving to the shops to buy ingredients for a lamb roast dinner when he began to feel the symptoms of a heart attack.
Morched was driving home from church when Thomas’ car stopped in front of her.
Realising something was wrong she sprang into action.
“I jumped out and tried to wake him up,” Morched said.
She turned off Thomas’ car and pulled up the handbrake, before running to another driver in a car behind hers and asking them to call triple-0.
Then Morched approached two boys waiting at a nearby bus stop to help her pull Thomas out of the car.
As the triple-0 was made for an ambulance, another alert was simultaneously sent — and Waddington rushed across the road toward the crowd that was beginning to gather around Thomas.
Waddington is one of 13,500 good Samaritans on call in the GoodSAM community — but more are still needed.
“GoodSAM absolutely saved my life and I hope my story encourages more people to sign up so they can help someone else,” Thomas said.
In calling on the wider NSW community on Wednesday to encourage a boost in registrations, NSW Health Minister Ryan Park said: “Alan was transported to hospital where he made a remarkable recovery and has since returned home to his family.”
It is free to register for the GoodSAM program, and volunteers each time get a choice in whether they respond to alerts for their area.
“You don’t need formal first aid or CPR training to become a GoodSAM responder,” Park said.
“Chest compressions are easy to do, and highly trained NSW Ambulance emergency medical call takers will talk you through it by phone.
“Anyone aged 18 years or over who is willing to perform chest compressions can register.”
Find out more about the program via the NSW Ambulance website.
