A MIDWIFE who helped save the life of a hockey player when he collapsed in Droitwich has been given a prestigious award, writes Elizabeth Price.
Melanie Stinton, who is from Droitwich works for the Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, was watching her son play football at Droitwich Spa FC when the incident happened.
Peter Prendville, 60, was playing hockey on a nearby pitch where he fell to the floor. At first, it appeared to be an ordinary fall. But, as he was not breathing, he needed immediate cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
After hearing someone shout for a defibrillator, Melanie – the sports ground’s medical officer – sprung into action.
She drew on her 28 years worth of CPR training to coordinate a calm, structured response.
Alongside Mel, responders delivered 20 minutes of CPR and five defibrilliator shocks in an effort to restart Peter’s heart.
They managed to keep Peter alive until the ambulance arrived. He was then taken to Worcestershire Royal Hospital for emergency treatment.
It particularly struck a chord with Melanie as, when she was young, she tragically lost her own father to cardiac arrest. He was aged just 42 and there was no-one around him to respond.
That led to Mel’s resolution that she was never going to let that happen to anybody else.
“That’s stayed with me all my life.
“If I can stop that happening to another family, then it’s all been worth it.”
Peter, who is also from Droitwich, credits the speed he got attention with saving his life.
“Early CPR and the defib, that’s what saved me.”
He woke up in hospital with broken ribs from the chest compressions, but no lasting brain damage.
“I look back now and think I’m just incredibly lucky.”
Six weeks after the incident, Mel and Peter met.
Mel, and others who helped Peter, have been honoured with awards from the Royal Humane Society for saving his life.
Thanks to Mel’s quick thinking and years of training along with organised teamwork, Peter’s family were spared the same devastating loss she experienced.
But Mel said the fact he was still alive was all that mattered.
“I was lucky enough to meet Peter a few weeks later, which was lovely to know that the early intervention had kept this man alive.”
After recovering, Peter is back doing what he loves – playing hockey.
He said: “Since I am back on the hockey I don’t do as much running, but my heart’s working much better now and I feel I have more energy.”
Visit: nhs.uk/tests-and-treatments/first-aid/cpr/ for more information and guidance about CPR.
