Milngavie grandad who received lifesaving CPR reunites with Scottish Ambulance Service crews

A grandad from East Dunbartonshire who had collapsed while on a run has been reunited with the ambulance crew who saved his life after he received CPR.

John Hooper, from Milngavie, had been running outside Clober Golf Club on Craigton Road in the town on May 18 this year when he collapsed.

The grandfather-of-three was immediately given CPR and a defibrillator was brought out from the golf club after his neighbour and several bystanders spotted the emergency.

Ambulance crews then arrived from Leverndale Ambulance Station where crew members Sophie Barrett and Kayleigh MacDonald, were able to give Mr Hooper lifesaving treatment before taking him to Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.

As he was reunited with Ms Barrett and Ms MacDonald, Mr Hooper said: “Were it not for the efforts of everyone involved I would not be here today. I am so grateful to your staff.

“Having performed CPR several times myself when I was an operational fire officer, I never thought it would need to be performed on me.

“My family and me sincerely thank everyone involved and hope they know how much it means to us. I am still here to be with them. I’ll be forever grateful.”

The meeting comes as the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) launches its Restart a Heart campaign, lifesaving initiative aiming to help save more lives across Scotland by teaching people vital resuscitation skills which can be used if someone goes into cardiac arrest.

Around 3,200 people in Scotland have an Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest (OHCA) every year with people in deprived areas twice as likely to have one.

Survival rates for OHCA have doubled in Scotland in the past eight years due to initiatives such as Restart a Heart and the public are being encouraged to sign up to further improve the figure.

Steven Short, the SAS’s OHCA Programme Lead, said: “Every second counts when someone has a cardiac arrest. Early CPR and the use of a defibrillator is essential to increasing the chances of survival. With most cardiac arrests happening at home, knowing CPR and being confident to act could save a loved one’s life.

“The chances of survival reduces by around 10% for every minute without CPR, so it’s essential that as many people as possible sign up to learn these lifesaving skills. You never know when you might need them.”