A quick-thinking Telford woman saved a man’s life after he suffered a heart attack at 30,000 ft in the air on a plane home from Eygpt.
Beverlee Pedley, from Madeley, was travelling home after a holiday in Egypt when a passenger aboard her flight suffered a heart attack.
Mrs Pedley, a senior advanced practitioner at Stafford Hospital, jumped into action alongside another nurse to help the cabin crew when a passenger in his 50s collapsed with chest pains.
Mrs Pedley has worked at Stafford Hospital for 37 years and persuaded the pilot to land the Boeing 757 plane at Gatwick instead of carrying on to Manchester, where it had been due to touch down.
“Getting a plane full of passengers to land early was quite a big decision to make for everyone involved,” she said.“But when someone is having a suspected heart attack, you only have a small amount of time to administer life-saving clot-busting agents to get the best outcome.
“It was my advanced training and experience that gave me the confidence to assess, diagnose and treat the gentleman and to tell the captain that he needed to land the plane early.”
Once the plane had landed there was no time to get the man to hospital so awaiting paramedics carried out a life-saving treatment in the ambulance on Gatwick runway.
Mrs Pedley, who was previously an intensive care nurse, said: “I called the hospital afterwards to find out how he was and he was well enough to be able to speak to me, which was great.
“On reflection, the responsibility of taking care of someone 30,000 feet in the air was quite daunting and it didn’t hit me until afterwards.
“The cabin crew and everyone else involved were brilliant – it was a real team effort.
“It’s just not what you expect when you’re on a flight home from a holiday.”
Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust deputy director of nursing, Jill Davies, said: “When we heard what Beverlee had done, we all thought it was marvellous. We’re very proud to have her working at the Trust.”
A Thomson spokesperson said: “Thomson is extremely grateful for the assistance given on board and would like to express special thanks to Beverlee Pedley for her expert help.”
