Student paramedic saves man's life in supermarket

Stacey Thain only started her paramedic training in May

A student paramedic found herself in the thick of the action when she saved a man who was having a heart attack in a supermarket.

Stacey Thain only started her training at the University of Sunderland in May, but when she saw the man in need of help she went into "auto-pilot".

The 33-year-old was shopping in Blyth with her son and her partner when the man collapsed and she rushed to help him.

"It still hasn’t sunk in that I am the reason he is alive," she said.

Miss Thain, who is from Stakeford, said the man was blue in the face and had difficulty breathing.

While another shopper called an ambulance, she started CPR and got the store's first aider to fetch a defibrillator.

"[The first aider] asked everyone to stand back and I used the defibrillator to shock the patient," Miss Thain said.

"Then I carried out CPR again before the ambulance crew arrived."

The experience left Miss Thain reassured she had chosen the right career path

Once the crew was on scene, she continued with her shopping until a paramedic caught up with her at the tills and she saw that the patient was awake.

She said: "He wanted to thank me, he held my hand and asked my name.

"The paramedic told me if I had not been there it would’ve been a different outcome – that I saved the man’s life."

She said the experience reaffirmed to her she had made the right career choice.

"I know I can handle a stressful real-life situation, putting every lesson I’ve been taught so far into action," she said.

The patient was taken to the Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital in Cramlington.

Bethany Hackers, the health advisor at North East Ambulance Service who took the emergency call, said Miss Thain had immediately recognised the signs of cardiac arrest.

"In these types of calls, it is always nerve-racking because someone’s life is immediately in danger.

"However, I did feel relieved that the student paramedic was there and she very quickly put the intervention in place."