Man given 'another chance at life' after cardiac arrest in Rainhill

In September 2023,  Ray Hughes was walking a group of five friends near the M62 motorway at Rainhill Stoops when he suddenly fell ill and collapsed.

Fortunately, one of the group, Greg Wood, is a North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) volunteer and community first responder and instantly started the resuscitation process while the others pinpointed their location and called 999.

For out of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests, there is a less than 10% survival rate but the reactions of Ray's friends and the swift response from the ambulance service meant that the 78-year-old was given "another chance at life".

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Ray and his family visited the NWAS HQ in Speke (Image: NWAS)
With paramedics teams arriving on the scene within seven minutes, responding officers found that the 78-year-old's heart had stopped beating so could be described as being clinically dead.

As Ray's friends had started resuscitation, the first responders continued this process and spent 28 dedicated minutes restarting the heart's rhythm.

Ray was then rushed down the motorway to Broadgreen Hospital in Liverpool to receive further treatment. He has since had a successful triple bypass operation and has been recovering at home.

Speaking to the Star, Ray, from Widnes, said: "I don't remember much about the incident, only when I came round in hospital, but there is no doubt that the swift response from my friends and ambulance staff saved my life."

After the category one 999 call in September, more than 10 NWAS staff were involved in the effort to save Ray, including three paramedics, an emergency medical technician, a critical care doctor and an air ambulance pilot who treated him at the scene.

A call handler took the initial 999 call, and then several dispatchers and control staff allocated the crews and the helicopter to the scene.

As he continues to recover, Ray and his family visited his rescuers at the NWAS Merseyside HQ in Speke on Monday, February 12, where he also had the chance to meet the staff who dealt with the incident in the control room and organised help to arrive after the 999 call.

NWAS teams stressed the importance of community responders and volunteers (Image: NWAS)
Ray added: “I’m incredibly grateful to my friends and everyone involved in my rescue. They have given me another chance at life.

"Meeting all the people involved to offer my thanks is the least I can do. It’s been a great experience for me and my family to meet them face-to-face.

"I feel incredibly lucky to be here today, and it was in part down to the professionalism, expertise, and determined actions of the ambulance service and staff that attended that day."

Speaking about his involvement in the rescue, Greg Wood said: “I’ve been an enhanced community first responder for the North West Ambulance Service for a long time now. When I’m available to respond, NWAS can send me to similar situations when I may be able to get to patients quickly and start immediate care.

“As this incident shows, the importance of learning CPR and basic life-saving skills is crucial.

"The speed at which I was able to recognise what had happened to Ray and start chest compressions undoubtedly played a role in his survival, as did the expert work of the ambulance service and medics at the hospital.

"I would encourage anyone to learn these skills, and if they want to take it a step further, volunteer for the ambulance service like me.”

Ray has been recovering at home following a triple heart bypass operation (Image: NWAS)
At a time when the NHS and ambulance service are stretched, and 999 calls are often made for cases that are not emergencies, paramedic Aaron Hillman also spoke about the essential roles of community first responders.

With such a low rate of survival for out-of-hospital cardiac arrests, Aaron said it was very rewarding to see Ray and his family in recovery, especially as paramedics do not often get to see the results of the patients they respond to.

For more information about community first responders at the North West Ambulance Service, you can visit this link. Information about NWAS volunteers can be found here and information about responding to cardiac arrests can be found here.