Doctor’s chance visit to staff gym saves hospital volunteer’s life

‘I’d like to say big hearty thank you, because without you I wouldn’t be here today.’

Those are the words of thanks from Bob Smyth to the medical staff who saved his life.

Bob, who works as a volunteer on the volunteers’ helpdesk at Medway Maritime Hospital, suffered a cardiac arrest while working out in the hospital’s staff gym. He was discovered by chance thanks to Dr Srinivas Vinjamuri using the gym’s amenities and putting his head around the door to see who was in the gym.

Volunteer Bob with Dr Vinjamuri, Consultant Physician Care of the Elderly

Dr Vinjamuri, Consultant Physician Care of the Elderly, (pictured with Bob) said: “It really was a case of right time, right place when I found Bob lying on the floor.

“I went over and shook him and then found he had no pulse so I started cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and put out an arrest call.”

Resuscitation Officer Matt Taiano said: “When we arrived a couple of members of the Site Team, who are based near the gym, were there doing CPR. They also had a defibrillator on Bob, which is key to survival coupled with effective CPR.

“He received four shocks from the defibrillator and 16 minutes of CPR before his heart started to beat for itself. He was then transferred to the Emergency Department (ED) where he was stabilised and then taken to the cardiac catheter lab where some stents where put into his arteries to improve blood flow to the heart. He was then moved to the intensive care unit (ICU) where he was ventilated and put to sleep for approximately 36 hours. Amazingly he woke up the next day with no brain damage. He was then stepped down to our coronary care unit (CCU) followed by Bronte Ward before going home. About 200 staff would have been involved in Bob’s care from start to finish so it really was a whole hospital effort.”

Remarkably, less than three weeks after he collapsed, Bob was back at work doing what he loves most – helping people.

Bob Smyth surrounded by colleague who saved his life standing in the gym

The 74-year-old, from Hoo, who has been a volunteer at the hospital for nine years, said: “I use the staff gym on a Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday after I finish my shift. On the day it happened I signed off as normal but I can’t remember anything after that.

“The first recollection I have is on the Critical Care Unit. When I woke up my wife Grace was there and the first thing I said to her was ‘I better let them know I can’t continue with my work’.”

Speaking after he was recently reunited with some of the staff who saved his life, Bob said: “It was overwhelming to see some of the people who worked on me and I will be forever grateful to them. Dr Vinjamuri said he doesn’t know why he came into the gym but lucky for me he did.

“When I sit at the volunteers’ helpdesk and I see people coming in to the hospital who are worse off than me it makes me appreciate even more what they have done for me. I can’t thank them enough.

“I’m on medication now and I don’t require any further treatment. I’m feeling really good and I’ve started walking again but I won’t be going back to the gym for a few weeks yet.”

A short video which features interviews with Bob, Dr Vinjamuri and Matt, can be found on our YouTube channel.

Chief Executive Jayne Black said: “Well done to everyone involved with Bob’s care. The outcome could have been very different.

“While our medical staff are trained to carry out CPR it’s also important that people in the community know how to do it too.

“Survival rates for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest remain low in the UK, with fewer than one in 10 people surviving but evidence shows that if someone experiences a cardiac arrest that bystander CPR and bystander defibrillation has a huge positive impact on the outcomes for those patients. In some cases it can mean the difference between life and death.”

Our Resuscitation Service and Acute Response Team (ART) deliver CPR training to children and young people across Medway and Swale. The sessions are designed to be fun and interactive while providing vital resuscitation skills that could help to save a person’s life. If you would like the teams to visit your school, or club, email medwayft.resus.service@nhs.net.

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Dr Jaroslaw Beta, who is known to colleagues and service users as Jarek, holds baby Jarek who is named after him. Mum Lauren Davies is pictured next to them.

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