Glastonbury care home worker thanks staff for saving his life

Ambulance staff praised the quick reactions from Sony (right) and other care home staff

A care home worker helped by his colleagues after suffering a heart attack has said "he wouldn't be alive without their quick reactions."

Gary Smith, 54, Facilities Manager at Brunelcare's Glastonbury Care Home, in Somerset, had the heart attack at work.

He went onto have five more heart attacks on the way to, and at, Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton.

Mr Smith said: "I think my colleagues were amazing, I was in the right place at the right time thankfully."

"If it wasn't for their quick reactions, making sure I was settled and keeping me talking - or even if I had been at home - it would've been a very different story."

Mr Smith was in his office when he started feeling pains in his chest

Mr Smith had his first heart attack at the care home on 30 October, then the following five in the ambulance and at the hospital.

He continued: "I was siting down in my office when I start feeling poorly with a lot of pain and discomfort.

"They [my colleagues] reacted so quickly and if it wasn't for Sony and Tom, I wouldn't be here.

"They really did save my life.

"I was in hospital for just four days - the cardiologist couldn't believe how quickly I recovered. They put it down to the quick reactions from my colleagues."

'Right place'

Senior nurse Sony Kurian was working at the care home when Gary first started feeling unwell.

She said: "I came upstairs to see Gary and he was very pale, sweating and his breathing was unusual.

"When I asked him how bad the pain was on a scale of 1-10 and he said it was 20.

"I called an ambulance and we made him feel as comfortable as we could before they arrived.

"I'm so happy that he's okay and has recovered - it happened in the right place in a care home thankfully.

"We miss him a lot and we can't wait to have him back."

Mr Smith said he hopes to be back to working at the care home once he has fully recovered.