Hayling Island Lifeboat: Crew member saved the life of a woman who had a cardiac arrest whilst in the Lifeboat pub on Hayling Island

February 2023 marks 20 years since senior helm, Andrew Ferguson, joined the Hayling Island Lifeboat crew and it also marks one year since he saved a life.

He was enjoying his evening in a local pub after being awarded the Vellum award last year, when someone rushed up and asked for his help after a lady had collapsed and required urgent casualty care.

He immediately took control, with the assistance of two other lifeboat crew members who were there, Calum Benham and Mark Jordan, and he carried out CPR for over 20 minutes, as well as using a defibrillator during this time.

Lin Fisher, from Portsmouth, was admitted to hospital and she was able to go home a few days after the incident.

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She had collapsed and suffered a cardiac arrest that night due to a rare condition later diagnosed as spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD), and since Andrew saved her life she has been trying to raise awareness SCAD.

She has spread the word at work and they have since offered first aid training to all staff and purchased several defibrillators, one of which is in Lin’s car at all times in case of an emergency.

Lin said: ‘We will always have a connection in life because Andrew saved mine.’

After the event Andrew received a commendation with recognition and thanks for his dedication from the Medical Director of the RNLI, who said his actions ‘truly represented the values of the RNLI.’