Dash for loo saves a life

A paramedic making a toilet stop probably saved the life of a man who suffered a heart attack at a Bay of Plenty service station.

The 51-year-old service station worker was attended to by a St John Ambulance paramedic caught short while transporting a woman to Tauranga Hospital.

The paramedic, who wants to remain anonymous, pulled into the Maungatapu BP service station just as an employee developed severe chest pains.

The worker was crawling through to the workshop, urging his workmates to call an ambulance. No sooner had the staff dialled 111 than the paramedic was seen making a beeline to the service station loo.

The hugely relieved staff couldn't believe the speed at which their 111 call had been answered. The paramedic was confronted by a staff member saying "follow me quickly".

He found the man was not breathing and had no pulse.

The sprint to the loo was replaced with a sprint to the ambulance. The paramedic defibrillated the man - two shocks and his heart restarted, and his breathing.

Mt Maunganui ambulance officer Gary Bishell said there was little doubt that without early defibrillation, the man would have died. He was now recovering well.

- NZPA