New Year's Day dip ends in 25 mins' CPR for Teignmouth volunteer lifeguards
New year's day dip ends in 25 mins' CPR for Teignmouth volunteer lifeguards
Casualty collapsed on promenade
A New Year's Day dip and board training session ended in a real life life-saving situation when Teignmouth Beach Surf Life Saving Club were called into action after a casualty collapsed on the promenade.
A local man, named as Kevin Beech, collapsed at around 11:40am on a New Year's Day stroll at the beach and a team of Teignmouth's volunteer lifeguards provided CPR for 25 minutes while waiting for the air ambulance. Dom Round and Kim Webber Marks put their training into action by administering CPR, after a nurse on the scene had started work on the casualty.
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Natalie Coen, a SLSGB qualified surf life saver from the club, comforted Kevin's wife Jan and then used her training to take control of clearing the beach for the air ambulance. Following its arrival, she provided information to paramedics on the status of the casualty before ensuring the area was cleared for landing, a difficult operation for all with a high tide and a very small area on which to land.
Resourceful club members used rescue boards to block off the slipway to beach and managed the crowd that had formed.
The casualty was taken to hospital and underwent a serious heart operation. He is now conscious and speaking and it is hoped he will return home in the next few days.
Teignmouth Beach SLSC is affiliated to Surf Life Saving GB, a charity of volunteer beach lifesavers and the National Governing Body for Life Saving Sport, helping people to be fitter and safer by the sea.
Many Surf Life Saving GB clubs provide lifeguard cover on beaches across the country as volunteers, and some rescues happen during club training sessions when club members spot people in danger.
Teignmouth Beach SLSC members use their rescue, first aid and life support skills to ensure that everyone using the sea is as safe as possible. They train adults and youngsters in lifesaving, and practise life saving sport – the sport of lifeguards – to keep their skills honed.Kim Webber Marks, vice captain at Teignmouth SLSC said:
"This incident goes to shows how important local surf life saving clubs are to a community. I've been training from a young age and it was amazing to see how my skills made a difference. It was a whole club effort and made me feel proud to be part of it."
Natalie Coen from Teignmouth Beach SLSC said:
"When the incident happened everyone from the club worked brilliantly as a team to provide the care the casualty needed, and worked hard on the CPR going. All the training we've had came into practice and we're delighted the man is now recovering in hospital. We all wish him a speedy recovery."
Pete Lawrence, Chairman of Surf Life Saving GB said:
"Our thoughts are with the casualty and his family at this time. Incidents such as this demonstrate the importance of trained lifesaving volunteers and equipment available 365 days of the year. The primary purpose of Surf Life Saving Clubs all over the country is to train and educate their members in providing these essential life saving skills."
Find out more about Surf Life Saving GB at www.slsgb.org.uk
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