Man ‘brought back to life’ with public help after Baulkham Hills accident

PARAMEDICS are praising the work of bystanders who helped save a man’s life after he stopped breathing at a traffic accident in Baulkham Hills this morning.

Paramedics stabilise a man after he was revived after an accident in Baulkham Hills.

PARAMEDICS are praising the work of bystanders who helped save a man’s life after he stopped breathing at a traffic accident in Baulkham Hills this morning.

Witnesses performed CPR on the man after a traffic accident on Cook St at around 7.50am.

Ambulance chief inspector Brian Parsell said prompt action by members of the public allowed paramedics to successfully revive the man once they arrived on-scene.

“This patient was clinically dead – his heart had stopped and he was not breathing when we arrived on scene,” he said.

“Statistically, out of hospital cardiac arrests have a mortality rate of over 90 per cent, however the combination of CPR and defibrillation meant that the patient was able to be revived.

“While en route to hospital, the patient became increasingly responsive and started to wake up, which was absolutely terrific to see.”

Insp Parsell said members of the public who administered prompt and effective CPR on the patient were instrumental in delivering a good outcome.

“We know that undertaking CPR and using early defibrillation on a patient in cardiac arrest increases their survivability by up to 75 per cent — and this incident is an excellent example of that evidence.

“The signs are certainly very promising for this patient, thanks to the excellent work done by these bystanders – one of whom was an orthopedic surgeon from Westmead Hospital.

“This is an terrific illustration of how members of the public doing CPR can be the difference between a bad or a good outcome for someone in cardiac arrest.”