Nurse saves heart attack man on jet
A Telford woman saved a man's life after he suffered a heart attack on a plane back from Egypt.A Telford woman saved a man's life after he suffered a heart attack on a plane back from Egypt. Beverlee Pedley, of Madeley, put her nursing skills to the test when the passenger on board the Thomson flight fell ill. Mrs Pedley, a senior advanced practitioner at Stafford Hospital, was joined by another nurse on board in saving the man after he collapsed with chest pains. Mrs Pedley said when she realised how ill the man was she persuaded the pilot to land at the nearest airport, London Gatwick, instead of continuing to its scheduled airport in Manchester. "Getting a plane full of passengers to land early was quite a big decision to make for everyone involved," she said. Read more in the Shropshire Star
A Telford woman saved a man's life after he suffered a heart attack on a plane back from Egypt.
Beverlee Pedley, of Madeley, put her nursing skills to the test when the passenger on board the Thomson flight fell ill.
Mrs Pedley, a senior advanced practitioner at Stafford Hospital, was joined by another nurse on board in saving the man after he collapsed with chest pains.
Mrs Pedley said when she realised how ill the man was she persuaded the pilot to land at the nearest airport, London Gatwick, instead of continuing to its scheduled airport in Manchester.
"Getting a plane full of passengers to land early was quite a big decision to make for everyone involved," she said."But when someone is having a suspected heart attack, you only have a small amount of time to administer life-saving clot-busting agents to get the best outcome.
"It was my advanced training and experience that gave me the confidence to assess, diagnose and treat the gentleman and to tell the captain that he needed to land the plane early."
The time was crucial in saving the man's life as paramedics carried out further life-saving treatment in an ambulance on the runway as they did not have enough time to get him to hospital.
The former intensive care nurse said: "I called the hospital afterwards to find out how he was and he was well enough to speak me which was great.
"On reflection, the responsibility of taking care of someone 30,000ft in the air was quite daunting and it didn't hit me until afterwards.
"The cabin crew and everyone else involved were brilliant - it was a real team effort.
"It's just not what you expect when you're on a flight home from a holiday."
Jill Davies, trust deputy director of nursing, said: "When we heard what Beverlee had done, we all thought it was marvellous. We're very proud to have her working at the trust."
A spokeswoman for Thomson said: "Thomson is extremely grateful for the assistance given on board and would like to express special thanks to Mrs Pedley for her expert help."
