Police commended for saving woman’s life in Eastbourne town centre

Police said PCs Nicola Booth and Daniel Kennedy ‘rushed to help’ the woman after they were ‘shattered by the sounds of screams’ at around 5am on August 26 last year in Hyde Gardens.

Officers said PC Booth and PC Kennedy got to the scene and saw a woman lying on the pavement near the public toilets with a discarded needle close by.

According to police, when they found that the woman was no longer breathing PC Booth went in search of a defibrillator and PC Kennedy stayed with the woman and cleared her airways.

PC Booth, officers said, returned with a defibrillator but when they attached it to the woman it did not indicate that she should be shocked with it.

So instead, according to police, the two officers began administering cardiac pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and by the time an ambulance arrived at the scene the woman was attempting to breathe on her own.

Police said PCs Booth and Kennedy have both been awarded Royal Humane Society Resuscitation Certificates and praised for saving the woman’s life.

Royal Humane Society secretary (RHS) Andrew Chapman said, “Thankfully they were virtually on the spot when the woman screamed and were with her almost immediately.

“If they had not reached her when they did she would almost certainly not have survived. To all intents and purposes she was already dead.

“However, the CPR issued by the two officers effectively brought her back to life. She was on the brink of death and undoubtedly has them to thank for saving her life. They did a magnificent job.”

An RHS spokesperson said the roots of the RHS stretch back more than two centuries. The Queen is its patron and its president is Princess Alexandra. It is the premier national body for honouring bravery in the saving of human life.

The spokesperson said it was founded in 1774 by two of the day’s eminent medical men, William Hawes and Thomas Cogan. Their primary motive was to promote techniques of resuscitation.

However, as it emerged that numerous people were prepared to put their own lives at risk to save others, the awards scheme evolved, and today a variety of awards are made depending on the bravery involved, according to the spokesperson.

The RHS also awards non health care professionals who perform a successful resuscitation, the spokesperson said. Since it was set up the RHS has considered over 87,000 cases and made over 200,000 awards.

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