Ambulance bosses have paid tribute to the actions of an off-duty Trainee Nurse Associate after she saved the life of a man involved in a car crash near her home.

Jade Myatt came across a car crash near her home in Telford.

The driver of the car had been taken ill at the wheel and had narrowly missed Jade’s house before crashing into a field. Jade said:

“I got out to make sure everyone was ok. Another motorist who had also stopped said he was concerned that the driver’s breathing had changed so I went to check on him. 

“He was still in the car and his breathing was very poor.  I suspected he was having a heart attack and that he needed immediate treatment.”

The man’s heart attack developed into a cardiac arrest and Jade worked with the other gentleman to start CPR until the ambulance arrived. She then supported the ambulance crew until the driver was taken to hospital in where he was stabilised before being transferred. Jade added:

“The paramedics knew I worked in AMU and they spoke to my manager. The gentleman in question is doing really well and is now back at home.

“They said if I wasn’t on the scene, the outcome could have been very different.”

West Midlands Ambulance Service Senior Operations Manager for Shropshire, Rob Till, added:

“In a cardiac arrest, every second counts. For every minute after the heart stops and no-one is doing CPR, the patient’s chances of survival drop by 10%.

“The fact that Jade was there and able to start CPR massively increased the chances of the man surviving; her actions undoubtedly gave him the best possible chance of making a good recovery.

“Jade’s actions show how being prepared to do CPR really can make you into a lifesaver. This is one of the reasons we would urge everyone to learn the skill as you just never know when they might be called upon to help someone, be it a friend, loved one, or as in this case, a complete stranger.

Jade is due to qualify as a Nursing Associate in January and plans to go on to study to become a registered nurse.