The importance of workplace first aid training was brought home to one Meridian Energy wind technician recently when he used his skills to help save the life of a truck driver.
Brad Stuart was on his way to work at Te Uku Wind Farm near Raglan in Waikato, when he came across a truck parked in the centre of the road at remote Te Mata. It soon become apparent the driver was in a bad way and needed help.
Brad leapt into action, remembering the first aid kit and defibrillator in his truck, and his on-the-job emergency care training, making sure the patient was in the recovery position and checking his airways. With the patient not breathing, Brad used the defibrillator, which activated several times to restore the truck driver’s heartbeat, before starting CPR. Brad was then joined by two other Te Uku technicians, Blair Falconer and Matt Lever, and the three of them worked together to continue CPR until emergency services arrived.
“It was great when the other two guys arrived, because they’d done the same training as me, so between us we could keep performing CPR until the ambulance arrived. It also meant they could check him for me to make sure I hadn’t missed or forgotten anything,” Brad says.
Brad credits his work-related emergency first aid training with keeping him calm at the scene. “I did kind of just go back to the training and focused on that to keep me at ease while I was trying to help him.
“We do the training every year, and I’d just done a refresher a few weeks earlier. It’s funny because in the CPR training they say ‘you’re probably never going to need this’. But I’m really glad I had those skills.”
The truck driver has since had surgery is now on the road to recovery. The ambulance paramedic who attended the scene acknowledged that Brad’s quick, calm, correct response allowed the patient to survive and reach hospital care.
Meridian Energy CEO Mark Binns says the quick, calm reactions of Brad and his co-workers were living proof of the high value of good first aid training. “I am really proud of what Brad, Blair and Matt did. It is wonderful to think that the quick thinking and sound training of our people has saved another human being’s life.”
Connexis is the Industry Training Organisation (ITO) for the Infrastructure Industry and Chief Executive Peter Benfell says Brad’s amazing story highlights how vital workplace emergency first aid training is.
Connexis recently hosted the Annual Connection 2017 competition event showcasing the skills of the Electricity Supply sector, where first aid training was featured heavily.
“Brad’s story is an incredible one, with a happy outcome. It really highlights how important it is not just to have the right first aid equipment when you’re out on the job, but to know how to use it. And how having that knowledge can give you the calmness and confidence to respond well in an emergency,” says Peter.
“Brad, Blair and Matt should all feel extremely proud of themselves.”
ENDS
www.connexis.org.nz
Media contacts:
Kaarin Gaukrodger
Head of marketing and Industry Standards
Connexis
021 451 890
Tracey Mehrtens
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