Quick thinking leisure centre staff at Ennerdale Leisure Centre who saved a mans life have been recognised with a national award.
Ann-Marie Blowman, Dave Loftus and Lee Robinson received certificates from the Royal Life Saving Society UK (RLSS) thanking them for their professional action and for working calmly and effectively at the leisure centre.
The incident occurred when a regular gym goer, John Lines, from Thorngumbald was playing badminton and collapsed on Tuesday 28 November 2017. It quickly became apparent that CPR and an AED Automated External Defibrillator would be necessary and the team responded.
John Lines spent three weeks in hospital and has now made a full recovery. John, said: I have to say Annie and Dave at Ennerdale are fantastic and without doubt have saved my life. If they hadnt have had the training and knowledge I would not be here today. They thoroughly deserve to be recognised and I want to thank them for everything they did.
Ann-Marie Blowman, Leisure Manager and Dave Loftus at the centre were the first members of staff on the scene who gave John CPR. Dave used the AED defibrillator for the first time in his 25 year career and administered CPR, taking turns with Ann-Marie, until the paramedics arrived on the scene.
Ann-Marie, said: It was a tremendous team effort from everybody involved, its a great feeling to know that the actions of me and my team helped to save Johns life and were delighted that the John has made a full recovery.
My team acted with complete professionalism putting all our lifesaving training and knowledge to the test, along with keeping a defibrillator at the centre and making it count on the day. Im very proud of them.
The leisure centre lifeguards attend two hours staff training every month which includes CPR, First Aid, role of a lifeguard and rescue techniques. The Royal Lifesaving Society UK (RLSS UK), through its training subsidiary IQL UK, is the governing body for the National Pool Lifeguard Qualification (NPLQ) which all Lifeguards hold.
Helen Pendlington, RLSS UK Customer Engagement Manager, presented the Certificates of Commendation to the leisure centre staff and said: Presenting awards such as this, is one of the highlights of my job, it is no exaggeration to say that the lifeguarding team are the real heroes here. If it wasnt for their NPLQ training, with calm and quick reactions, the outcome for the customer couldve been very different. The value of an AED at the centre, cannot be under-estimated.
AED units were put into all Hull Culture & Leisure Ltd leisure Centres more than 10 years ago.
Councillor Terry Geraghty, Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Tourism and Chair of Hull Culture and Leisure, said: The staff at Ennerdale Leisure Centre are a credit to us all, their speedy actions and quick thinking have proved so valuable and critical.
Lifeguarding is a great job, with flexible hours and the chance to work with a great team of people and if that wasnt enough, the skills you learn are recognised all over the world and can help you save someones life. If you are 16 years-old+ and would like to find out more about lifeguarding courses near you, please visit: rlssdirect.co.uk/course-finder #BeaLifeguard A 10-week course takes place at East Hull Pools and Hull Culture and Leisure are currently recruiting more lifeguards.