Fareham students praised for saving the life of an elderly man during a trek

Six pupils from the Boundary Oak School were quick to act when they discovered a 75-year-old man lying face down and unresponsive on a Queen Elizabeth Country Park trail last month.

The 15-year-olds provided first aid, helping him regain consciousness. They then used the What3Words app allowing emergency services to find them and the man was airlifted to Queen Alexandra Hospital.

Student Henry Basitan-Mason said: ‘It was the first day in to our expedition, about 20 minutes into our walk when we came across an elderly man who was on the floor unconscious.

‘Myself and the rest of my group, dropped our bags and quickly ran over to the man who at that time wasn’t breathing. We rolled over to his side, cleared his airway and put him into the recovery position as we also dialled 999.

‘We had to continue to help him and care for him as he became distressed. The teamwork was amazing and we continue to make sure that everyone was OK after the event, with the help and support of our teachers at school too.

‘All of us are really happy that the man is back home with his family, we all wish him the very best and hope he is OK.’

An emergency services worker who attended the scene described their actions as ‘life saving’ and confirmed the man was ‘critically ill’ and had to be admitted to intensive care.

The man was then discharged to go home a week later.

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One of the group members, Caitlin Pestell, said: ‘It was quite a scary experience to look back on and one that we will never forget. At the time, when we found the man, we just ran towards him and did what we knew we had to do to help him.’

Charlie Holyer added: ‘I’m extremely proud of how we worked as a group to save the man’s life. Enormous amounts of bravery and responsibility were shown by everyone and without these qualities, there could have been a very different outcome.’

Students Matilda Hayes-Pritchard, Lily Myers and James Miller were also a part of the group.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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