Manly lifeguards say team work saved swimmer’s life
Senior lifeguard Scott Riddington has watched CCTV footage of the rescue of a swimmer having a seizure over and over again. He knows that man was saved because of one main thing.
Manly
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Lifeguards have been praised for their extraordinary efforts in saving the life of a man who suffered a seizure in Manly Aquatic Centre pool last week.
Senior lifeguard Scott Riddington, 52, said he has watched the centre’s CCTV footage of the incident — not being made available to the public for privacy reasons — multiple times to check how everyone reacted.
“Every part of our training and everyone in our team had a job to do,” Mr Riddington said.
“It could not have gone better.”
The lifeguard with 35 years under his belt, said the elderly man would not be alive if he had suffered the medical episode while walking down the street.
The footage shows that the man’s head was trapped under a lane divider in the 50-metre outdoor pool as he was having a seizure.
Within 20 seconds a trainee doctor in the water realised what was happening and called out while holding the patient’s head out the water.
Within 40 seconds Mr Riddington and fellow lifeguard Natalie Kent, 48, reached the man and were pulling him out of the pool.
Mr Riddington then raised the alarm via a radio and triple-0 was called.
Meanwhile, junior members of the lifeguard team had got medical equipment ready including oxygen and a defibrillator.
As one junior lifeguard Ellie Gobee, 19, began CPR, another Ella Alcock, 18, set up the defibrillator which automatically told them no shock was required as his heart was beating.
Another lifeguard Zoe Carley, 19, gave him oxygen, with assistance from Ms Kent and the trainee doctor.
While this was going on, an estimated 150 people were also being evacuated from the pool including two groups of schoolchildren. The pool was clear at the two minutes and 45 second mark.
Within five minutes and 50 seconds paramedics arrived. The patient was suffering a series of seizures. After assessing him they put the patient in an induced coma.
A Careflight helicopter also landed soon after at Graham’s Reserve with two doctors on-board. Police were already there waiting for them to assist when it landed. The helicopter was not needed.
The patient was taken to Royal North Shore Hospital, escorted by police, and is recovering.
Mr Riddington, who began his career aged 18, and has attended more than 30 life or death incidents — including six on his days off — said immediately after the incident the team had a debrief and watched the CCTV footage.
He asked them all how they were all feeling.
“A few were emotional that night,” he said. “For some it was their first one and it’s a really big deal for them. We offered counselling.
“Being older and the team leader I’m so proud of everyone and how they performed.”
Ms Kent said, even though she was experienced, she had trouble sleeping that night.
But knowing that the team reacted exactly as it should and the patient’s life was saved helped.
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Mr Riddington, who lives in Manly, said he had worked on the beaches and at the pool all his life.
He said incidents like this can happen within a split second.
“Someone can have a seizure or a kid jumping on another kid, it can all happen in a moment,” he said.
Dr Susan Rowley, of Queenscliff, was having coffee at Manly Aquatic Centre cafe when the drama unfolded said the lifeguards “recognised a true life threatening event, rescued the man out of the pool, placed him in the appropriate position and were administrating the correct resuscitation treatment … all within seconds.
“This action likely saved this man’s life.”
Mr Riddington has been nominated for a Pride of Australia award for saving multiple lives in the community and for guiding the next generation of lifeguards.