Always ready to rescue: Off-duty paramedics save man who collapsed at tube station

Off-duty paramedics rushed to save a man in cardiac arrest when he collapsed at a tube station in west London.

James Short, 49, from Uxbridge, was on his way to work at Chiswick Business Park when he fell down the steps at Acton Town station.

James, who recently had heart surgery, said: “I was on my way to work and as I left the underground station at Acton Town – I reached for the hand rail, missed it and fell down. I tried to stand up but then I passed out.”

Luckily, off-duty paramedic Sophie Beswick was on her way to a training course in the trademark green uniform when she was spotted by a member of the public who alerted her to the emergency. She ran over and immediately started chest compressions on James.

She was shortly joined by two other off-duty paramedics Josh Denbigh and Nicki Simper.

Sophie said: “I was walking out of the tube station and someone saw my green trousers and ran over and asked if I was a paramedic because a gentleman has collapsed.

“James was lying on the floor and I saw that he was in cardiac arrest. I got the tube station’s public defibrillator nearby and gave him a few shocks from that device.

“My colleagues who were also on the way to the training arrived and shocked him with the defib and got him back.”

Ambulance crews Chris Saxby, Joe Newton and Jane Battle shortly arrived with Flight Paramedic Nick Baxter and other colleagues from London’s Air Ambulance.

They took James urgently on blue lights to St Mary’s major centre in Paddington as they were also concerned about a head injury when James collapsed.

And recently, he was reunited with the London Ambulance Service crews who saved his life that day.

James added: “I’m so lucky to have had the paramedics nearby as they started CPR very quickly and saved my life.

“It’s so surreal being told that I was so close to not being here. My wife lived through that and when I came round, I could see how upsetting it had been for her.

“We’re just so thankful to everyone involved. My life was in their hands and I could never have enough gratitude. They’re just amazing people and I’m so grateful that they were there.”

James is recovering well and wants to get back to running Marathons.

“I feel fantastic and a lot of that is down to the excellent care I received,” James added.

London Ambulance Service is aiming to make London a city of lifesavers, through organising life-saving CPR and defibrillator training for communities, organisations and schools.

 Help us raise money for local communities by joining London Ambulance Charity’s London Life Hike on 26 September.