Employees help in road accident
Employees at our national headquarters in
St Johns Lane, London, raced to the scene of a road accident to
give first aid care to an injured cyclist.
The casualty had been knocked off
her bike by a lorry on the busy Clerkenwell Road outside
the HQ building.
Lucy Johnston, 21, a student at City University, Islington was
the first on the scene to help and said: 'I had first aid training
a few years ago with St John Ambulance and it came back to me that
I should try and keep her head still in case of injury. I stayed
with her like this until the first aiders arrived.
'The training I had was really good and very hands on
so I obviously remembered some of that. I think I'm going
to spend my summer holidays refreshing
my training.'
A quick-thinking employee called on first aid trained
colleagues, John Newman and Caitlin McCullen - who are also
volunteers - to help the injured lady. They arrived on the
scene to find Lucy already helping keep the lady still.
They performed cervical spine control, administered oxygen
brought to the scene by an off-duty policeman and dressed an
injury whilst treating her for shock.
'The training I had was really good and very hands on so I obviously remembered some of that. I think I'm going to spend my summer holidays refreshing my training
Lucy Johnston
Bystander
John Newman, Medical Manager for St John Ambulance and
also a Volunteer Ambulance Crew Member said: 'The cyclist
was conscious and Lucy did a great job to keep the situation under
control and the casualty's head and neck still until we arrived. It
meant that no further damage was done and we were able to carry out
the necessary assessments and treatment until handing over to the
London Ambulance Service crew when they arrived. We worked with
them to immobilise her neck and load her on to their ambulance.
'Our mission at St John Ambulance is that everyone who needs it
should receive first aid from those around them. No one should
suffer for the lack of trained first aiders. As a result of the
training Lucy received as a member of the public and the training
we received as volunteers, the casualty was dealt with in a
confident and efficient manner and was cared for until the
emergency services arrived.'