Rouse Hill Anglican teachers honoured for saving grandpa’s life
ROUSE Hill Anglican College teachers Paul Kennedy and Karen Knight have been honoured by Ambulance NSW for their life saving efforts.
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ROUSE Hill Anglican College teachers Paul Kennedy and Karen Knight have been honoured by Ambulance NSW for their life saving efforts on a visitor at Grandparents Day last year.
During the Grandparent’s Day concert last September, Bill Whybrew, 75, went into cardiac arrest and collapsed to the floor.
Using a defibrillator, Mr Kennedy, the Head of PDHPE, and dance teacher Mrs Knight administered resuscitation on the Edensor Park man until Ambulance NSW crews arrived.
Mr Whybrew was then taken to Westmead Hospital in a critical condition but has since made a full recovery.
Ambulance NSW Chief Superintendent Ross Chivers, Superintendent Josh Atkins and Acting Superintendent and first responded Brian Parsell presented cardiac saviour certificates of recognition to the teachers.
Mr Whybrew was presented a cardiac survivor Certificate and now wears a T-shirt saying that he survived Grandparent’s Day at Rouse Hill Anglican College.
“Thanks to the intervention of the defibrillator device and the action of Mr Kennedy and Mrs Knight, Mr Whybrew was able to survive this very significant cardiac event,” college principal Peter Fowler said.
“The college community are very proud of the efforts of Mrs Knight and Mr Kennedy and other staff and community members who provided essential support during this emergency event and are delighted to celebrate the recovery of Mr Whybrew.”
Acting Supt Parsell told the students the importance of quick response in providing a greater chance of recovery for someone who has had a cardiac arrest.
He praised the efforts of the staff for having strong first aid training and defibrillators on site, saying that without these interventions, Mr Whybrew would only have had a very slim chance of surviving.
FAST FACTS
■ Best chances of survival for anyone suffering an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is immediate CPR and defibrillation, backed up by paramedics.
■ After a person suffers cardiac arrest, for every minute before CPR is commenced/or there’s access to a defibrillator, chances of survival reduces dramatically.
■ The survival rate of patients suffering an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is under 10 per cent.
NSW Ambulance responds to about 7000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests every year.
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