'Disgusted' medic tries to save rail passenger's life - but finds there's no vital kit

Andrew Chapman is calling on the Government to make life-saving equipment mandatory on all trains after a man's tragic death

A former NHS worker who tried to save a man's life on a London Northwestern Railway train has slammed the firm, claiming the pensioner's death "could have been prevented" if life-saving equipment was on board. Brummie Andrew Chapman said he was "shocked" and "disgusted" by the lack of equipment available to help the stranger who suddenly went into cardiac arrest.

The 35-year-old said he gave the man - believed to have been in his 80s - CPR for 20 minutes but his "pupils became fixed and dilated" during the traumatic event on a train from New Street to London Euston on September 13. "He was brain dead due to being starved of oxygen," said Mr Chapman, a former NHS perioperative assistant.

Mr Chapman wrote to the Prime Minister and transport secretary Louise Haigh urging the Government to make defibrillators, or at the very least CPR masks, mandatory on all public transport following the tragedy. He said it was "totally unacceptable" for "basic life-saving equipment not to be on our trains".

READ MORE: Pensioner in his 80s punched and kicked at One Stop Shopping centre in Perry Barr

The rail firm told BirminghamLive it was "assessing the feasibility of carrying defibrillators" on its fleet, but the ambulance service "is rightly the primary provider of urgent medical care". It added: "In an emergency, our staff are trained to arrange professional help at the nearest station.

"All our services carry first-aid equipment on board and we also maintain defibrillators and bleed kits at key stations on our network. We keep our medical provision under regular review."

Mr Chapman, a customer relationship manager for a digital marketing firm, said the tragedy happened as the train approached Tile Hill station. "There was an announcement for an off-duty paramedic," he claimed.

"I am not a paramedic, but I spent many years volunteering for St John ambulance and working for the NHS in an operating theatre and in A&E. I had to give the man CPR with help from other members of the public.

"I was shocked and disgusted to find out London Northwestern Railway does not carry ventilation masks or a defibrillators on board. After 20-plus minutes of doing compressions, and not being able to get any oxygen into this poor guy, his pupils became fixed and dilated.

"The ambulance crew arrived but there was nothing they could do. They tried their best to save him. If London Northwestern Railway had emergency equipment on board, it could have saved his life."

Mr Chapman said he hoped the Government would install the medical equipment. "It should be mandatory, on all our public transport, including buses, including trains, making sure the minimum amount of equipment is available: ventilation mask, CPR masks. I know defibrillators come at a cost, but is that cost worth a human life?"

A London Northwestern Railway spokesperson told BirminghamLive: “Our condolences are with the family and friends of the passenger who sadly passed away earlier this month. The ambulance service is rightly the primary provider of urgent medical care on the rail network and in an emergency our staff are trained to arrange professional help at the nearest station.

"All our services carry first-aid equipment on board and we also maintain defibrillators and bleed kits at key stations on our network. We keep our medical provision under regular review and, recognising that speed of treatment is of paramount importance during cardiac arrest, we're currently assessing the feasibility of carrying defibrillators on board our trains in future.”

A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesperson added: "We were called to reports of a medical emergency on board a train at Tile Hill Railway Station, Cromwell Lane, Coventry, at 5.31pm on September 13. Crews arrived on scene to find bystanders performing CPR on a man.

"Ambulance staff commenced advanced life-support before the man was conveyed on blue lights, in a critical condition, to University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire for further emergency care."