Ambulance Driver Saves Life

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30169, 28 June 1963, Page 10

Ambulance Driver Saves Life

(N.Z. Press Association) AUCKLAND, June 27. The quick action of a St. John Ambulance officer saved the life of a man he was taking to hospital tonight. He revived the man three times in the ambulance and kept him alive until a doctor could reach him. The man. Arthur James Gray Soppet, aged 57, a farmer, of Monument road, Maramarua. was admitted to Middlemore Hospital and his condition tonight was described as fair. Mr Soppet collapsed while climbing the stairs of a building in Papakura just before 5 p.m. He was revived and

an ambulance was called. Driven by Mr R. D. Bolton, the ambulance arrived about 15 minutes later. Mr Soppet appeared to be in good enough condition to be moved and he was put in the ambulance.

Mr Bolton said he gave Mr Soppet some oxygen to “keep him going” and began to drive toward Middlemore Hospital. He drove slowly to keep an eye on Mr Soppet and to avoid the bumps. On the Takanini straight. Mr Soppet collapsed again and Mr Bolton stopped to revive him. He succeeded by using mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and continued on his way Between Takanini and Redoubt road. Mr Bolton was forced to stop four more times and on two occasions he had to revive Mr Soppet After the fifth stop, said Mr Bolton, he realised that if he had tried to move on Mr Soppet would have died. Mr Bolton called Auckland on the radio-telephone and asked for immediate aid. He

continued to apply resuscitation and also used a minuteman resuscitator.

The medical officer of the accident and emergency department at Middlemore was rushed by ambulance to Redoubt road where Mr Bolton had stopped. The doctor and Mr Bolton both thought Mr Coppet had died. The doctor inserted a tube in Mr Soppet’s windpipe to keep it clear and travelled back to Middlemore in the ambulance. The tube slipped out as Mr Soppet was being taken into the hospital and he was given emergency treatment ‘‘About 10 minutes later be was sitting up thanking us,” Mr Bolton said. ‘‘We don’t often save a life like that.” The trip from Papakura to the hospital took Mr Bolton more than an hour. Asked for his comment tonight, the Medical Superintendent at Middlemore said: “The man owes his life to the prompt action of the ambulance driver, who recognised that the patient was likely to die.” *