Arts centre worker uses first aid training to save man’s life
A woman who works at Haverhill Arts Centre in Suffolk has been praised for her life-saving actions when a man collapsed on stage.
Mary Argent, who had undertaken a first aid training refresher course just the week before the incident, rushed to the aid of Charles Shipp, who was leading a singing group when he collapsed.
With the help of retired police officer Jim Begg, who is also likely to have taken a first aid training course or two in his former career, Mary was able to give Mr Shipp CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) and keep him alive until ambulance staff arrived.
Speaking to the Haverhill Weekly News, Mary described what happened, saying:
“I was told someone had collapsed upstairs and I shot up there. I will never forget it; he had stopped breathing and he was like stone, because his heart had stopped.
“I just kept on doing the CPR and a man called Jim gave him a couple of breaths of mouth-to-mouth. When he started breathing again it was incredible how the colour came back to his face.
“I am just so pleased that we managed to bring him back, I don’t know how I would have reacted if we had lost him. It is the first time I have ever had to do it and I was so glad that we had done our course last week.”