Teacher thanks ambulance staff who saved his life

Giles Phillips (centre) and his family met with staff at South East Coast Ambulance Service

A father has met some of the ambulance staff who saved his life when he suffered a tear to the main artery leading from his heart.

Giles Phillips, from Gillingham, Kent, suffered the medical emergency at home in the early hours of 17 November 2020.

With just a 15-30% chance of surviving the Type A aortic dissection, the science teacher was attended by five members of staff from South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAMB).

After being stabalised, he was transported to Kings College Hospital where he underwent nine hours of emergency heart surgery.

Four years on, Mr Phillips, now 49, and his family were given a tour of SECAMB's Emergency Operations Centre.

He learnt more about what happened to him, from the initial 999 call to resources being dispatched.

'Positive story'

Mr Phillips said: “When I awoke three days later in intensive care, having no memory of what had happened, I was completely surprised to see a familiar face; an ex-student of mine who I had taught in the years prior, was standing at the end of my bed caring for me.”

Paramedic Lauren Judge, who was one of the first on the scene to help him, said: “It was lovely to be able to fill in some of the gaps in Giles’ memory regarding the morning of the incident.

“This is all part of the recovery and healing process and I’m thrilled that we all got to be part of this positive story.”