Great North Air Ambulance Service

The wife of a man who suffered a cardiac arrest while on their local beach near Berwick has praised the people who collectively saved his life.

Tracey Snell, 48, from Scremerston, Berwick-upon-Tweed, had travelled to Cocklawburn Beach on 11 November 2023 with her husband Brian Snell, 67, who is affectionately known as ‘Bounce’.

She was planning to walk their dog Teddy, while her husband collected and chopped up firewood which had swept up on the beach, however the sound of his chainsaw stopped prematurely, so she returned to the car, where she found her husband slumped over.

She said: “I went over and shook him, and he fell over and bumped his head. His face was the darkest blue and it was bright red around his lips and his eyes were glazed over.

“I used to be a nurse and I could see he wasn’t breathing, and it was very scary.”

Mrs Snell rang for an ambulance and while on the phone she flagged down a couple of members of the public who were nearby, and they began performing CPR on her husband.

Paramedics from the North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) arrived on scene and used a defibrillator on Mr Snell to help restart his heart.

Mrs Snell said: “The paramedics did a sterling job taking over the resuscitation though it took several attempts with the defibrillator and five more minutes of chest compressions from a local man called Neil before they finally got a pulse. Several minutes in, his heart stopped again but still they persevered and eventually got it restarted for the second time.”

In addition to NEAS, Berwick Coastguard Rescue Team and the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) were requested to attend the scene and arrived shortly afterwards.

Mrs Snell said: “As soon as the team from GNAAS arrived they took over from that point and said they were going to sedate him to prevent him thrashing about and get him on the helicopter. They had landed on the road, so he was able to be carried but it took several people to lift him.

“I know they don’t tend to let on how bad it is, but they were talking to me and reassuring me, and everyone was fantastic. I gave him a little kiss and saw him being placed inside the helicopter before they flew him to hospital.”

Mr Snell was airlifted to the Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI) in Newcastle where he remained in an induced coma for three days.

He has no recollection of the events that happened, and despite breaking a few ribs from the CPR, he is grateful to be alive and is now back home making slow and steady progress.

Mrs Snell added: “For those two people who helped me perform CPR on my husband’s lifeless body for fifteen minutes, the medical professionals have told me that we categorically saved his life, he would not have made it if we hadn’t maintained that level of care in those vital moments.

“I would like to say the most heartfelt thank you to the amazing GNAAS crew, NEAS paramedics, HM Coastguard, the police and a couple members of the public who came selflessly to my assistance.”

Alan Stewart, a paramedic based at Berwick, said: “We don't often hear of what happened to patients post our care, so I’m delighted to hear that Brian is still with us and making a good recovery.

“The incident shows the importance of good early CPR from bystanders prior to the arrival of trained medical staff. The patient’s wife and other members of the public that assisted did a fantastic job which gave the patient a good chance of survival and recovery. They are commended for their actions under difficult circumstances.

“I would also like to thank all the other services involved – GNAAS, Berwick Coastguard Rescue Team and police.”

Louise Brown, clinical care assistant at Berwick said: “I am so pleased to hear that Brian is still with us and is making steady progress. As road staff we find it hard not knowing what happened to patients after traumatic events like this.”

Dr Lyle Moncur from GNAAS added: “We are so glad to hear that Bounce is doing well and we were able to play our part in the chain of survival.

“We put him in a medically induced coma to stabilise his condition before flying him to the RVI but it was the combined effort of CPR by his wife and bystanders and early defibrillation by NEAS that ultimately gave him the best chance of survival. Thank you also to the police and coastguard who assisted in this incident.”

Senior Coastal Operations Officer Daniel O’Connor said: "All of us at HM Coastguard are very glad to hear that Brian is back at home and making progress with his recovery.

“I commend the actions of Mrs Snell, bystanders, medical staff and the Coastguard Rescue Officers who helped that day. I hope Tracey, Brian and Teddy will be back out enjoying our beautiful coastline soon."

GNAAS needs to raise £8.5m a year to remain operational. To find out more about how you can support the charity visit: gna.as/fund247

About GNAAS

• The Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) is a charitably funded air ambulance service which provides life-saving care throughout the North East, North Yorkshire, Cumbria and Isle of Man.
  
• They operate two helicopters 365 days a year and also operate a night-time service in the North East and Cumbria on rapid response vehicles.
  
  
• The aircraft cover an area of more than 8,000 square miles and on board are specialist doctors and paramedics who effectively bring the hospital to the patient.
  
  
• The level of skill and expertise of the on-board team mean they respond to the most critically ill and injured people, giving them the best chance of survival.
  
  
• GNAAS is a progressive organisation which has pioneered pre-hospital care in the region.
  
• The latest techniques, equipment and drugs are constantly being evaluated to ensure the charity can provide the best care possible for their patients.
  
  
• 2022 marked the service providing 20 years of life-saving care. Throughout this time, they have responded to more than 23,500 incidents across the region, with road traffic collisions being the most frequent type of incident responded to by the team.
  
  
• They do not receive Government funding and must therefore raise £8.5m a year through public donations to remain operational.

For more information visit: https://www.greatnorthairambulance.co.uk/ or follow @gnairambulance on Facebook, X, Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok