AN EMERGENCY medical adviser is among ambulance workers and volunteers who have been recognised for their life-saving efforts.

Rebecca Wicks, who works at the South East Coast Ambulance Service (Secamb) control room in Lewes has been praised for helping to save the life of a 17-year-old.

The 25-year-old from Eastbourne has now been recognised for her outstanding medical care.

She was praised for the way she handled a 999 call about the teenage girl when she started fitting at a special needs school in Worthing.

The teenager then went into cardiac arrest and Ms Wicks was able to offer advice and support over the phone.

The annual South East Coast Ambulance Service awards honours those who have made exceptional achievements or shown great dedication to their work.

The ceremony also highlights staff and volunteers who have shown commitment to the trust and NHS for many years.

Among those to receive a special chief executive honour this year was the medical response team at Brighton and Hove Albion’s American Express Community Stadium.

The group, made up of NHS, St John Ambulance and Albion staff provides medical support at the club’s home games.

They have successfully resuscitated four out of four people who have suffered cardiac arrests at or very near to the stadium.

Sam Carter, a community first responder for the Rother area, was recognised for his efforts at two tragedies at Camber Sands last year.

Seven men ended up losing their lives with they got into difficulties at the beach.

The first incident in July left two men dead and five died in another incident in August.

Mr Carter was the first to arrive at the scene in both cases, where he had to deal with distressing and confused situations. He said what he had to face would stay with him for the rest of his life.

Secamb acting chief executive Geraint Davies said: “These awards show the amazing work which is going on day in day out at Secamb.”

OUTSTANDING PATIENT CARE

FOR emergency medical adviser Rebecca Wicks it was just another 999 call coming into the Lewes control centre where she works.

However it turned out to be one of the most challenging she had faced.

A call came in from a special needs school in Worthing reporting a 17-year-old girl had begun to have a fit while she was on the trampoline.

It later emerged she had started to suffer a cardiac arrest.

Ms Wicks, 25, from Eastbourne, said: “Because the call came through as a ‘fitting’ I was not immediately thinking about a cardiac arrest and also the patient was very young.

“However what followed changed the situation very very quickly.”

While on the phone, the patient stopped fitting and her breathing had become noisier.

Ms Wicks asked the caller to go back over to the patient and within 30 seconds full CPR was in progress and a defibrillator on site was used.

Ms Wicks’ team leader Georgina Byne nominated her for an outstanding patient care award.

She said: “Becki was really quick to identify this young girl was in fact in cardiac arrest and gave the staff at the school clear instructions to commence CPR.

“She stayed calm and professional throughout the call.

“It is very clear that if Becki hadn’t recognised that the patient was in cardiac arrest and had not continued to give those vital instructions, the patient may not have survived.”

The patient was successfully treated at Worthing Hospital.

COMMUNITY RESPONDER

THE tragic events of last summer on a popular stretch of the coast will remain with volunteer Sam Carter for the rest of his life.

The 50-year-old is no stranger to being called out to emergencies near his home in Camber as he has been a community first responder for ten years.

His role is to get to the scene of an emergency and start providing what medical care he can until paramedics arrive.

What happened at Camber Sands last year would have tested any hardened medical professional.

In total, seven men lost their lives off this stretch of coast in two separate incidents, one in July, and then a month later in August.

First to arrive at the scene in both cases, Mr Carter was faced with very distressing and confused situations.

He said: “It has to be said it was one of the worst years.

“Within the space of a few weeks I not only dealt with these two incidents, I also lost a few people that I was close to.

“It has been hard and I have had some counselling.

“However, I am more than happy keeping busy and I love what I do.”

The management team at Hastings Secamb operational unit were so impressed with Mr Carter’s calm approach they nominated him for a voluntary and community service award.

Acting clinical operations manager Steve Barker said: “He dealt with the incident with typical professionalism, tirelessly giving aid wherever he was able without instruction.”

FOOTBALL CLUB’S LIFE-SAVING MATCH DAY MEDICAL TEAM

FOR some people, watching a game of football can be very exciting and at times distressing.

The roller coaster of emotions a person can go through during those 90 minutes can play havoc with a person’s health.

This is something the team which provides medical support at the home of Brighton and Hove Football Club, the American Express Community Stadium at Falmer, is all too familiar with.

The club moved into the stadium in 2011 and in the time it has been there, four people have been successfully resuscitated inside the grounds or just outside.

This has largely been thanks to eight heart-starting defibrillators donated to the club by the Sussex Heart Charity and the treatment provided by the team.

This is made up of South East Coast Ambulance Service, St John Ambulance staff and Rob Galloway, club crowd doctor and A&E consultant, who is based at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton.

With its 100 per cent track record, the club has been dubbed the safest stadium in the world.

The group is led by Adrian Dry who was instrumental in setting up the medical structure in place at the stadium.

In nominating the members for team of the year award, operational unit manager for Brighton Tim Fellows said: “What they do there is really special.

“They work well together supporting and complementing their areas of expertise.”

The most recent case involved Richard Stubbs, who fell ill after a match against Wolves last October.

Mr Stubbs had to be shocked four times with a defibrillator during his care.

Mr Dry said: “After a stressful end to the game, the supporters started to make their way home via the park and ride buses.

“While on one of these buses, and just as it was leaving the stadium site, one fan suffered a cardiac arrest.

“Off-duty paramedic Steve O’Connor was on the bus and he immediately started CPR.

“The Secamb match day medical team responded from the stadium and arrived on scene shortly after, along with Rob Galloway and members of the duty St John Ambulance team.

“This is now the fourth successful resuscitation during a match day at the Amex Stadium since it opened.

“It yet again demonstrates the value of early CPR and great team work during a multi-agency incident.

“It is also testament to the close and longstanding working relationship that exists on match days.”

Nationally, the survival rate for a cardiac arrest is less than five per cent so the odds for all four surviving are just one in 160,000.

All four of the men eventually went on to have no ill-effects from their ordeals, Mr Fellows had no hesitation in saying that the medical support provided at the Amex was second to none.

He said: “I am often quoted as saying that it may be a championship football club but it has premiership medical support.

“I am so proud of the team and what they have achieved and I am delighted that they are receiving this award.”