A doctor’s chance visit to a gym has been credited with saving the life of an elderly volunteer.
Bob Smyth, who works on the volunteer’s helpdesk at Medway Maritime Hospital, suffered a cardiac arrest while working out in the staff gym.
By chance, a medic popped his head round the door at the fitness centre – and found Bob collapsed on the floor.
Dr Srinivas Vinjamuri saw he had no pulse and immediately started CPR and called for help.
He was given four shocks from a defibrillator and after about 16 minutes, Bob’s heart started beating by itself.
Bob, 74, was transferred to the emergency department and then to the intensive care unit where he was put to sleep for 36 hours.
Remarkably, three weeks later Bob was back at work doing the job he loves – giving out advice and information on the helpdesk.
Dr Vinjamuri, consultant physician, said: “It really was a case of right time, right place when I found Bob lying on the floor.
Bob, who lives in Hoo, was recently reunited with the medical team who saved his life.
He said “‘I’d like to say big hearty thank you, because without you I wouldn’t be here today.”
Resuscitation officer Matt Taiano said: “When we arrived a couple of members of the site team, who are based near the gym, were there doing CPR.
“They also had a defibrillator on Bob, which is key to survival coupled with effective CPR.
He added: “Amazingly he woke up the next day with no brain damage. He was then stepped down to our coronary care unit (CCU) followed by bronte ward before going home.
Around 200 staff were involved in Bob’s care from start to finish in what was a whole hospital effort.
Bob, who has volunteered at the Gillingham hospital for nine years, said: “I use the staff gym on a Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday after I finish my shift.
“On the day it happened, I signed off as normal but I can’t remember anything after that.
“The first recollection I have is on the critical care unit. When I woke up my wife Grace was there and the first thing I said to her was ‘I better let them know I can’t continue with my work’.”
He added: “It was overwhelming to see some of the people who worked on me and I will be forever grateful to them.
“Dr Vinjamuri said he didn’t know why he came into the gym but lucky for me he did.
“When I sit at the volunteers’ helpdesk and I see people coming in to the hospital who are worse off than me it makes me appreciate even more what they have done for me. I can’t thank them enough.”
Bob is on medication now and doesn’t require any further treatment.
“I’m feeling really good and I’ve started walking again but I won’t be going back to the gym for a few weeks yet,” the volunteer added.
Jayne Black, chief executive for Medway NHS Foundation Trust, said: “Well done to everyone involved with Bob’s care. The outcome could have been very different.
“While our medical staff are trained to carry out CPR it’s also important that people in the community know how to do it too.
“Survival rates for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest remain low in the UK, with fewer than one in 10 people surviving but evidence shows that if someone experiences a cardiac arrest that bystander CPR and bystander defibrillation has a huge positive impact on the outcomes for those patients. In some cases it can mean the difference between life and death.”
The hospital delivers CPR training to children and young people across Medway and Swale.
The sessions are designed to be fun and interactive while providing vital resuscitation skills that could help to save a person’s life.
If you would like the teams to visit your school, or club, email medwayft.resus.service@nhs.net
