Driver who took passenger to hospital in bus praised

Giles Bradshaw said he was grateful for the help he received

A passenger praised the actions of a bus driver who took him to hospital in his vehicle when his heart stopped briefly.

When Giles Bradshaw, 56, from Devon, passed out on the journey in Newcastle, driver Gary Owen called 999.

But after being told it could be a four-hour wait for an ambulance he found another bus for his passengers, and took him to hospital himself.

Mr Bradshaw praised Mr Owen as well as another passenger who also helped.

The freelance computer programmer from South Molton was in Newcastle for business when he became unwell on the bus travelling towards the Regents Centre in Gosforth, at 21:00 BST on 31 July.

Gary Owen parked his bus as close to Newcastle's RVI hospital as possible

He said: "I'd had fainting spells in the past, so doctors had already fitted me with a heart monitor.

"The doctors in Newcastle later discovered my heart had stopped for about 22 seconds.

"All I knew was that I'd passed out and when I came to with a massive rush of blood I told the man sitting behind me I wasn't well and he told the bus driver."

Mr Bradshaw said the ambulance call handler asked him various questions but because it was not a heart attack and he did not have the symptoms indicating an emergency there would be a wait.

Mr Owen said: "It became instinct I just rang the ambulance and said 'this guy needs to be seen, I'm not happy for him to just go home' and that's when they said it would be up to four hours and I thought I'd take him to the RVI in the bus, I'm not sitting waiting for four hours."

He added: "I explained the situation to the other passengers and I then flagged down another bus to get them home."

A print out of the data from Mr Bradshaw's heart monitor revealed his heart had stopped for 22 seconds

Mr Owen drove to Newcastle's RVI where Mr Bradshaw said the data was taken from his monitor and he ended up having a pacemaker fitted.

Mr Bradshaw stayed in hospital for five days before going home to Devon.

He said: "The North East is one of those areas, a really friendly place where people give you the time of day and it was really good that everyone helped me.

"The bus driver who took me to hospital could've saved by life, it wouldn't have been good to have been left sitting by the side of the road."

Nathan Gaines said he was happy to be there when Mr Bradshaw needed help

The other passenger who helped Mr Bradshaw was Nathan Gaines, a croupier who was on his way to work in the city centre.

The 27-year-old said he heard Mr Bradshaw make a loud noise before slumping forward in his seat, upstairs on the double decker. He tried to keep him focused while Mr Owen called for an ambulance.

"I was on my way to work but seeing how Mr Bradshaw looked I decided to stay with him, and helped him into the hospital, in the torrential rain, where I told staff what had happened," he said.

The men hope to meet up, but Mr Gaines said: "If we do meet up in the future that would be great, but if we don't I'm just happy I was there when Mr Bradshaw needed me to be there".

A North East Ambulance Service spokesperson said: "We prioritise our resources to patients in immediate danger where there is a risk to life and at times of high demand, some patients can experience a delay for longer than we would like.

"We're really pleased to hear that Mr Bradshaw is receiving the treatment he needs and is recovering well and commend Gary and Nathan for their support for him."

Operations manager for bus company Arriva, John Rochford, said: "We are incredibly proud of Gary and his actions that day, ensuring that Mr Bradshaw was taken to hospital and given the immediate care that was required he is true local hero."