Top honours for Doncaster roadside life-savers

DC Hollie Robinson was walking along Carr House Road, Hyde Park, Doncaster on the morning of 6 October last year when she spotted the man slumped over the wheel of the van which was parked by the road-side.

She opened the door and the man, who was not breathing, began to fall out of the van. However, she managed to begin administering cardiac pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to him while he was still in the vehicle. Then she shouted for help to John Roque who was nearby and between them they lifted the man out of the van and Mr Roque continued the CPR while DC Robinson called an ambulance.

Then they took it in turns to continue administering CPR until an ambulance arrived and the man was given further treatment before being taken to hospital where he went on to survive.

Now both of them have been awarded Royal Humane Society Resuscitation Certificates and have been praised by Andrew Chapman, Secretary of the Society, for saving the man’s life.

“Thank goodness they were where they were, when they were and that DC Robinson spotted that the man had collapsed at the wheel. The sooner CPR is administered the better the chances are that it will be effective,” he said.

“Without doubt their rapid response played a major role in saving the man’s life. They did a wonderful job and richly deserve the awards they are to receive.

“This is another of man y cases we see that emphasise the value of as many people as possible, not just members of the emergency services, learning how to administer CPR. It can, as it did here, make the difference between life and death.”

The roots of the Royal Humane Society stretch back nearly 250 years. Other than awards made by the Crown it is the premier national body for honouring bravery in the saving of human life.

It was founded in 1774 by two of the day's eminent medical men, William Hawes and Thomas Cogan. Their primary motive was to promote techniques of resuscitation.

However, as it emerged that numerous people were prepared to put their own lives at risk to save others, the awards scheme evolved, and today a variety of awards are made depending on the bravery involved.

The Society also awards non health care professionals who perform a successful resuscitation. Since it was set up the Society has considered over 90,000 cases and made over 220,000 awards. The Society is a registered charity which receives no public funding and is dependent on voluntary donations.