A win for the Chain of Survival

On a Bank Holiday Monday in May 2023, Allan Riggs (age 71), was enjoying a morning playing Walking Football at Cambridge United Football Club (CUFC). Cambridge United Foundation, the charitable arm of the football club, had organised a Walking Football tournament for their participants at the club’s Abbey Stadium. Just ten minutes into the first game of the tournament, Allan scored, however immediately after, at 10:47am, Allan suffered a cardiac arrest in the centre of the football pitch and fell to the ground.

Simon Wall, the Foundation’s Community Engagement Manager and one of the organisers of the tournament, was watching from just a few feet away when Allan collapsed. What happened next is a good example of the ‘Chain of Survival’, which resulted in a positive outcome for Allan.

“I immediately rushed over to Allan. He had very laboured and ‘gaspy’ breathing.” Simon explains. “Initially I wasn’t sure if he had fainted, but he wasn’t responding, and his lips started to look blue. My colleague, Vicky called 999, and I made the decision to start CPR straight away. I used to be a teacher and received regular first aid training. I am also first aid-trained through Cambridge United, so something just clicked, and I knew what to do as I recalled all I’d learned.”

Being able to recognise someone is in cardiac arrest and calling 999 for an ambulance is the first step to helping, followed by delivering early CPR. Simon and his colleagues from the Foundation acted extremely quickly. This early recognition and receiving bystander CPR was crucial for Allan.

The 999-call hander asked somebody to fetch the nearest defibrillator. Tim, another of Simon’s colleagues, raced to get the club’s AED, while Simon continued CPR. In the meantime, the East of England Ambulance Service (EEAST) and a crew from East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA) Cambridge base were tasked. An app called ‘GoodSAM’ also alerted GoodSAM responder, Daniel, who was nearby and raced to the stadium.

A shock using the club’s AED (defibrillator) was given to Allan at 10:51am and his pulse returned at 10:53am. Simon had never seen a defibrillator being used before and was surprised by how straightforward it was. “The defibrillator talks you through exactly what to do. We gave one shock to Allan. What happened next is a bit of a blur, but I carried on CPR until the arrival of the emergency services.”

With EEAST and Daniel on scene, EAAA Doctor Keiran and Critical Care Paramedic (CCP) Josh reached Allan from the nearby Cambridge base by Rapid Response Vehicle (RRV) just a short time later. Allan was already responding by the time they arrived due to the prompt actions of Cambridge United Foundation’s Simon, Tim, Vicky and Finn.

Doctor Keiran and CCP Josh supported EEAST with monitoring Allan, carrying out an ECG, and administering medication to control pain and sickness, as well as administering cardiac medications. They then accompanied Allan by land ambulance to hospital for further treatment.  

Simon went to talk to the other players who saw what happened. Those who had been on the pitch when the incident happened were particularly upset, but they were all incredibly relieved to learn that Allan was awake and talking on his way to the ambulance.

Simon says: “Performing bystander CPR is a weirdly isolating experience with lots of questions which run through your head. Initially, I had no idea about the support available from EAAA’s Aftercare service – but we soon received an email about having a debrief for the staff involved, which was awesome. We were also provided with some information about support for the participants and spectators who also witnessed Allan’s cardiac arrest, which we were able to pass on.”
 

But the support didn’t end there. In September 2023, Allan and the staff from Cambridge United Foundation reunited to meet the EAAA crew during a visit to EAAA’s Cambridge base. Allan is unable to recall the events of that day, so meeting the people who worked together in his chain of survival was quite an emotional experience. It was also “the cherry on the cake” for the Foundation staff.

Supported by Lisa Boyle, Clinical Liaison Nurse with EAAA’s Aftercare team, who arranged the visit for both Allan and the staff from Cambridge United Foundation, Allan said: “It’s nice to see everyone again. I appreciate everyone’s help. If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be here.”   

Lisa said: “On that day, all the right people were in the right place, at the right time - and it was a win for the chain of survival.”

Shortly afterwards, Cambridge United Foundation held their annual awards night, where Allan met the club’s manager and was presented with a special award. “He was made up!” Simon says.

Simon concludes: “It’s the best thing in the world to see Allan up, about and relatively fit and well. I can’t put it into words what it means to have helped to save somebody’s life.”

EAAA aim to ensure any patients in East Anglia suffering an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest receive quality early CPR from the public and professionals to provide the best possible patient outcome and provide free CPR training. We were pleased to offer this to supporters at Cambridge United Football Club’s Abbey Stadium in January 2024 before the club’s fixture with Fleetwood Town.

Learn more about free EAAA’s CPR training programme here: First Aid Training | East Anglian Air Ambulance (eaaa.org.uk)