Paramedics battle in vain to save man (From Dorset Echo)
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Paramedics battle in vain to save man
11:00am Monday 18th March 2013 in News By Samantha Harman
RESCUE BID: Ambulance and air ambulance on Chesil Beach after a man collapsed on Portland
A MAN has died after he collapsed on a Portland footpath.
Paramedics fought to save the life of the man – who suffered a cardiac arrest – but he was unable to be resuscitated.
The Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance landed near Chesil Beach in a bid to airlift the man to hospital but he died at the scene.
The man, who was in his fifties, fell ill on a footpath near the end of Coronation Road, Fortuneswell, on Saturday.
A spokesman for South Western Ambulance Service said: “We received an emergency call at around midday on Saturday to say that a man had collapsed on a footpath.
“The land ambulance was mobilised and, given the nature of the incident and its location, the air ambulance attended.
“Unfortunately, despite attempts to resuscitate the casualty, he died at the scene.”
Councillor Sandy West, a Portland ward councillor at Weymouth and Portland Borough Council, sent her condolences to the family and praised the rapid response of the emergency services.
She said: “I saw the air ambulance come over. At first I thought it might have been the coastguard or the police but then realised it was the air ambulance.
“I am very sad to hear what has happened.
“My thoughts are with the man’s family and if there’s anything I can do to help them, I’m here.
“I am very impressed with how quickly the emergency services and the air ambulance attended.
“It’s just very sad that unfortunately this man couldn’t be saved.
“I hope that the family can draw some sort of comfort from the fact that the response was almost immediate.”
A spokesman for the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance said: “We were called to Portland on Saturday to an incident involving a male who had suffered a cardiac arrest. However, we did not convey the patient to hospital.”
The helicopter landed in the Masonic car park, Fortuneswell, close to Chesil Beach. Dorset Police also attended as a precaution.
A spokesman said: “We were requested to the scene by the ambulance service as a precaution after a man collapsed.”
Monmouthsman says...
12:46pm Tue 19 Mar 13
That chap had CPR administered for over 20 minutes by unqualified people who were near to him when he collapsed before even a paramedic turned up.
An absolutely disgraceful situation.