Man saved days after park installs defibrillator

Staff at Romney Sands Holiday Park have been praised by paramedics

Staff at a seaside resort have resuscitated a holidaymaker just days after a defibrillator was installed on site.

The colleagues from Romney Sands Holiday Park at Greatstone in Kent have been praised for their quick thinking after reviving the man who was in cardiac arrest.

By the time paramedics arrived the patient, Bharat Patel, was already conscious and responding.

Mr Patel, who went on to make a full recovery, said: "Without the quick response, help, support, and knowledge of the staff I would not have been alive right now."

He said: "I will be forever grateful to all the staff."

Just three weeks prior to the incident in August, the park had invested in a defibrillator.

Holiday park worker Amelia Taylor, who is also a student paramedic with South East Coast Ambulance Service (Secamb), was among those who responded to the medical alert.

She said: "So many things were going through my head, trying to understand what had happened, but my first thought was to get the patient on the floor, clear the area and start CPR.”

Kelly Little, Secamb emergency medical advisor, who coached the group through treatment on the phone after they dialled 999, said: "They did a fantastic job, and I have no doubt that things would have been very different if they weren’t in control of the incident.”

Secamb personnel have visited the holiday park to praise the staff there for their lifesaving skills.