A teenager has been praised for his "swift, unselfish and caring" actions after performing life-saving CPR on a stranger at Glasgow Airport.
Elliot Hughes, 19, sprung into action to help an unconscious man on January 9 while returning home from a trip to London which “undoubtedly saved his life”.
The Ayrshire College student spotted a group surrounding the man, who had collapsed. He soon realised he was in a critical condition.
He told Ayrshire Live: “I went over and there was a guy on the phone for an ambulance but he was saying, 'they're telling me to check his breathing, but I don't know how to do that'.
"I was first aid trained through the army cadets, so I got down, checked his breathing and he was taking a breath maybe every 30 seconds. So I put him in the recovery position but he stopped breathing altogether.
“I flipped him onto his back – someone helped me flip him over – moved his jacket away from his chest and started chest compressions for about six minutes until the first responders came from the airport, then a further two minutes while they cut off his clothes and attached a defibrillator.
"I think they shocked him three times until he got a pulse back and thankfully he was breathing on his own by the time he got in the ambulance.”
Glasgow Airport's airport commander wrote to Elliot after the incident.
The letter read: “You immediately and without hesitation went to render assistance to a person unknown to you and placed him in the recovery position thinking, initially, it was just a collapse but very quickly realising that he was not breathing, had no pulse, and you began life-saving CPR remembering army cadet training you’d previously done.
“Your actions, alongside that of the airport duty safety team, have undoubtedly saved this man’s life. Please be very proud of what you did and without being dramatic you saved a life by your swift, unselfish and caring actions.
“Thank you for your actions, which restore faith in human nature, that we should treat people the way we would like to be treated ourselves.”
The letter also noted that doctors predict the man to make a good recovery after receiving the medical care he required at hospital.
Elliot, who is enrolled at Ayrshire College's Kilwinning campus, is now encouraging other people to complete their basic first aid training.
“I left the cadets three years ago," he said, "but adrenalin kicked in and I knew I had to do something or else this guy wasn’t going to make it.
“I had done St John’s Ambulance first aid training which covers the basics, but also important things like CPR and choking. I never thought I’d have to use CPR but once I was put in that situation it all came flooding back to me.
“It was very hard. While you’re doing it you don’t realise the toll it’s taking on you, emotionally and physically, but when you step back you realise just how exhausted you are.
“It’s 100 per cent worth doing your first aid training or even a refresher course. You honestly never know when you’re going to need it. When you’re put in that situation, you have to get stuck in quickly, you don’t have much time to react so it’s good to have it fresh in your mind.”
Elliot aspires to go into youth work but didn’t feel he had the confidence to start a mainstream college course so instead opted for PEZ Plus within the college’s HIVE (Hope, Inspiration and Vision in Education) facility which aims to improve students' confidence.
“The PEZ Plus course is really good," he added. "I’d like to become a youth worker for children, to give them someone who is always going to support them.
"I’m applying for a job right now and I would not have had the confidence to do that without starting this course.”
