Three daring charity air ambulance crew members based in Scone have received a prestigious award for saving the life of a man who ‘died’ six times in a Highland Perthshire snowstorm.
Scottish Charity Air Ambulance (SCAA) paramedics John Pritchard, Richard Garside and Captain Shaun Rose were named Emergency First Aid Heroes of the Year 2022 at the Scottish First Aid Awards.
The incident took place near Killin in February last year, when visitor to the area Duncan Stevenson suffered a heart attack and needed to be taken to a specialist cardiac care hospital.
After he was picked up by a land ambulance, worsening winter road conditions meant that the quickest route for survival was via helicopter.
The SCAA air crew, based at Perth Airport, was deployed to meet the ambulance in Lochearnhead and take the individual onto Ninewells Hospital in Dundee.
Not long after the transfer, the patient suffered his first cardiac arrest.
The paramedics used the defibrillator to shock his heart into a steady rhythm and happy that he was stable, they took off.
Over the course of the journey, the patient went into cardiac arrest a further five times.
John and Richard worked as a team to keep him alive, carrying out CPR, airway management and ventilation.
Each time they brought him round, the patient vomited and re-arrested minutes later.
Throughout this, Captain Rose was putting every one of his 8000 flying hours into practice as he fought to keep the helicopter steady and safe in the midst of a winter storm.
On spotting the River Tay he followed the river all the way to the hospital, making a safe landing and assisting his colleagues in transferring the patient over to the waiting team.
Lead paramedic John Pritchard said of the event: “We were so focused on keeping our patient alive that – although we were aware of the challenges Shaun was facing - we had so much going on ourselves.
“The communication between us all was brilliant, and I am so proud of my colleagues.”
Captain Rose said: “I’ve faced many challenging situations in the air but this was without doubt the most difficult flight of my career.
“Thanks to the expert care provided by my colleagues, the patient was not only alive but was well oxygenated and suffered no brain function issues as a result.
“He has since made a full recovery.
“It is great to be recognised through this award and I am so proud of my colleagues who were absolute pros and brought about the most positive outcome.”
Close to 400 people attended the St Andrew’s First Aid Scottish First Aid Awards which were held in Glasgow on March 11.
