“Because of them and how quickly they were able to respond, I am still here” – the words of SAFC fan Philip Wright who after watching one of the Black Cats games collapsed suffering a cardiac arrest.
This week Philip met the people who saved his life and was able to say thanks in person for their heroic efforts.
On January 11 (2025) Philip, 71, had just attended a Sunderland vs Stoke City match with his friend when he went into cardiac arrest at The 3 Stories bar in the city centre later that day.’
Philip said: “I don’t remember anything from my cardiac arrest, only that I know I was with my friend when it happened. I hadn’t even experienced any symptoms beforehand, so it really came as a shock to those around me.”
Fortunately for Philip, a member of the bar staff and officers from Northumbria Police were on hand to begin cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and call 999 for an ambulance.
Early intervention for ‘out-of-hospital’ cardiac arrests is vital with only a 1 in 10 chance of survival without it. For each minute that a cardiac arrest patient does not receive CPR, their chance of long-term survival decreases by 10%.
One of the police officers on hand to provide life saving help that day was Police Constable Mark Atchison who said: “This wasn’t the typical match-day incident we’re used to dealing with.
“But I’m so glad we were in the right place at the right time, and were able to provide Phil with the immediate care that helped to save his life, until our colleagues from the North East Ambulance Service arrived to take him to hospital.”
A North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) health advisor answered the call and began the incredibly time-sensitive job of triaging Philip to ensure he received the right care as soon as possible. A dispatcher then worked to get a crew to Philip as the clock continued to tick.
First on-scene were Pallion-based NEAS crew, Josh Plumpton and Charlotte Spark.
Josh said: “I remember the call very well. We didn’t have much information other than we were attending a cardiac arrest and that the scene was chaotic.
“When we arrived, very good CPR was already being carried out by a bystander and our colleagues at the police took over compressions allowing us to focus on giving Phil advanced life support.
“Everything that could have gone in Philip’s favour literally did. His cardiac arrest was recognised early, he received effective early CPR, and then early shocks were delivered by the defibrillator.
“All of this had a huge impact on the positive outcome of his care and was a great example of fantastic patient care from everyone involved.”
This week, Philip was reunited with those who saved his life, including paramedics Josh Plumpton, Charlotte Spark, Georgia Liddle and Stephen Duffield, along with clinical team leader Elliott Tyler. PCs Mark Aitchison, Graeme Burton and Andy Hall from Northumbria Police were also at the reunion.
Philip said: “I spent three weeks in hospital; one at Sunderland Royal and two at James Cook before I was allowed to come home and continue my recovery.
“Although nobody wants to experience what I did, myself included, I am incredibly pleased and grateful for the care I received.
“Because of them and how quickly they were able to respond, I am still here and feeling much better. Even though the future is uncertain, I wanted to meet the people who saved me and thank them in person.”
On having the chance to meet Philip again and see his progress, Stephen said: “This is my first reunion with a patient. In honesty it feels a bit surreal as we don’t often get positive results from cardiac arrests, as only 1 in 10 survive, but it makes all the training and effort worth it to see that on this occasion we have saved this gentleman’s life.”
PC Atchison added: “I’m over the moon we’ve had the chance to meet up with Philip again and see how well he’s doing now. Seeing him fit and well really hits home why we carry out the CPR training we do.
“It’s not very often we get to see a successful outcome in incidents like, in fact this is my first one in seven years.
“We work closely with the North East Ambulance Service when there’s a traumatic incident like this and it shows how important the teamwork between emergency services is.
“To get the thanks of members of the public like Philip and his family just shows how much those in our communities appreciate the role we play.”
