Maidstone dad given CPR by strangers after collapsing on the school run

A dad-of-two was saved by quick-thinking strangers after collapsing on the school run.

Gavin Hanks, from Maidstone, suffered a cardiac arrest on the morning of December 10 last year, while walking home through Penenden Heath.

He had just dropped his daughter off at school with the family’s cockerpoo, Milo, when his heart stopped and he collapsed outside a parade of shops.

The 50-year-old has no memory of the moments after he collapsed. He regained consciousness in an ambulance on the way to the William Harvey Hospital’s cardiac specialist unit in Ashford.

He later learnt that two members of the public who witnessed his collapse had called 999 and started chest compressions.

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) manually pumps blood to the brain, heart and other vital organs, delaying tissue death, preventing irreversible brain damage and keeping oxygenated blood flowing until a defibrillator can restart the heart.

Emergency medical advisor Alice Hollingsworth-Hallett had been on the 999 call, giving clear instructions on delivering the chest compressions, with resource dispatcher Sarah Weller sending six clinicians to the scene.

Critical care paramedic Andy Brewer arrived at the scene and took over compressions, with consultant paramedic Julie Ormrod and operating unit manager Dave Hawkins confirming Gavin’s heart was in a shockable rhythm. The team delivered six defibrillator shocks.

Paramedics Paul Duchesne-Taylor and Nizar Younsi, along with student paramedic Ruby Shepheard and operational team leader Tom Myles also attended.

When Gavin arrived at the hospital, doctors discovered a blood clot in one of his arteries that had triggered the cardiac arrest.

He spent two weeks in hospital recovering, before returning home just before Christmas to his wife Tracy and their two young children.

Nine weeks on, Gavin and his family visited Paddock Wood Make Ready Centre to be reunited with Alice, Sarah, Julie, Dave and Tom.

The dad, who works for HSBC bank, says his survival will have a lasting impact, and has discussed organising CPR training with his teams up and down the country - and will be arranging sessions for his son’s under 13 football team.

Gavin said: “If those members of the public hadn’t of had the courage to start CPR immediately, I know I wouldn’t be here.

‘If those members of the public hadn’t of had the courage to start CPR immediately, I know I wouldn’t be here...’

“Every minute without CPR cuts your survival chances and by someone choosing to push on my chest, that’s the only reason I’m still here with my wife and children.

“If 10 people learn CPR because of what happened to me, that’s 10 more people who could save a life.

“You can’t hurt someone by trying. You can only help.”

Operating unit manager Dave Hawkins added: “Cardiac arrest is unforgiving. The heart stops, oxygen doesn’t reach the brain and within minutes the damage becomes irreversible.

You can learn CPR via the British Heart Foundation with a pillow and a mobile phone or laptop in hand by clicking here.

“High-quality chest compressions in those first few minutes are often the difference between someone walking out of hospital or never going home at all.

“You cannot make the situation worse by starting CPR.

“If someone is in cardiac arrest, doing nothing guarantees the worst outcome. Starting compressions gives them a chance.

“Likewise, public access defibrillators analyse heart rhythms and will only deliver a shock if it is required. You cannot harm someone by following the machine’s instructions.”