Bertie's swift response
When Bournemouth postie of 22 years, Bertie Soudes, set out on his round last week, he had no idea that his quick thinking and swift actions would soon be making the local news headlines.
‘A 42-year old male was found unconscious at the bottom of the stairwell in a block of flats,’ said Bournemouth COM, David Whitt.
‘Bertie was the first to find the man, who it turns out had a medical episode. Bertie's quick thinking meant he rushed to a neighbour to make them aware, and then CPR commenced.’
It was a shock for Bertie, certainly not something he was expecting, but he says his instincts kicked in immediately.
‘When I found him, the man was not moving at all,’ he says. ‘I had to go to find the caretaker to call the ambulance. She came down and gave him CPR.’
The man was soon being airlifted to hospital by helicopter.
‘If it was me, I would want someone to do the same for me,’ says Bertie, reinforcing the idea that Royal Mail posties do so much more than deliver letters and parcels – they are a vital, integral part of the communities they serve – never more so than at this time of year.
‘If you see someone and you see that they are on the floor – you help them,’ he says.
‘For me that is normal. As posties we see everything - and we are often the first people that the public approach to ask something in the street.
‘Customers are happy to see us.
‘Now that we are going into Christmas we are quite busy now in Bournemouth. We have got more people in the office. And we’re all going that extra mile to get things done. We are all up for the challenge.’
David added: ‘We wish the male a full and speedy recovery.’
What would you do if somebody’s heart stopped?
Learn lifesaving CPR in just 15 minutes with RevivR from British Heart Foundation. To get started, click here.
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