Ambulance care assistant heaps praise on colleagues who saved his life

Ambulance Care Assistant Mark Spedding was saved by his colleagues when he suffered a cardiac arrest while calling 999.

Mark, who was at home alone, had been suffering from chest pains when he rang 999. He had managed to give his name, address and symptoms to the call taker Francesca Brightwell when he became unresponsive in June 2024.

Within three minutes, Wakefield Paramedic Carly Duffy and Ambulance Support Worker Laura Murphy had arrived, started CPR and used a defibrillator to deliver a shock. They were joined shortly afterwards by Castleford Paramedic Amanda Wagstaff and Ambulance Support Worker Leanne Hayes along with clinicians who were working on the Yorkshire Air Ambulance rapid response vehicle. Many of the clinicians knew Mark and had worked alongside him.

They managed to resuscitate him and he was conveyed to Pinderfields Hospital for further treatment. He spent two days in an induced coma before being discharged two weeks later.

The father-of-three, of Normanton, will be sharing his experiences about the value of CPR with students at Penistone Grammar School in Penistone on Restart a Heart Day. He has also released the audio of the 999 call he made to raise awareness about the importance of early CPR.

“Less than one in ten people survive an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest but we can change that if more people learn CPR,” said Mark, who works with the non-emergency Patient Transport Service at Castleford Ambulance Station. “What happens in Yorkshire on Restart a Heart Day is tremendous and I am proud to be able to speak to students, share my story and give them the confidence to help other people in the way I was helped.”

In August, 59-year-old Mark was reunited with his colleagues who saved his life.

“It was very emotional, but in a good way,” said Mark, who has worked for Yorkshire Ambulance Service since 2018. “How do you thank the people who have saved your life? No words could ever do it justice. We are all human at the end of the day and regardless of the job we do, working to resuscitate someone you know is difficult, but they put that aside and the exceptional care they delivered was just fantastic; I wouldn’t be here without them.”

Dwain Longley, Area Operations Manager with Yorkshire Ambulance Service, said: “Ambulance crews attend patients who are critically unwell every day and while they are highly trained, this still offers its own challenges and difficulties. But to attend someone who you know personally and have worked with operationally adds its own dynamic. To be able to resuscitate them is an achievement but to be able to meet that individual afterwards and see they have not suffered any lasting detrimental effects is truly an honour for both the crews and patient.”