The St John Emergency Ambulance Service has presented a recognition of performance award to 999 call taker Matthew Tostevin for his work in providing CPR advice to members of the public over the phone.

Mr Tostevin works at the Joint Emergency Services Control Centre (JESSC) and is one of the team who answer 999 calls for the police, fire and ambulance services in Guernsey. As a new member of JESCC staff Matt has rapidly aspired to efficiently and effectively deal with a number of challenging emergency calls for patients in cardiac arrest. On several occasions during a 999 call Matt has swiftly and successfully instructed bystanders to commence CPR giving step-by-step advice to callers.

Guernsey’s Chief Ambulance Officer Ali Marquis said “Matthew has made a real difference in improving the chances of a patient being successfully resuscitated and in some case achieving a return of circulation. His calm and reassuring manner and his ability to give clear CPR advice when it is needed deserves recognition. On behalf on the St John Emergency Ambulance Service I would like to thank him for his continuing efforts.”

Matthew said “I am immensely proud to receive this award from St John. It is recognition that as part of a team, we all work together get help to people in their time of need. What I enjoy about working in JESCC is it is so varied due to covering all three emergency services and Coastguard. It is both challenging and rewarding and you never know what you are going to be dealing with next.” CPR.

Early CPR is one of the main factors in the chain of survival, which can improve the chances of a patient surviving a cardiac arrest. When a member of the public calls for an ambulance for a casualty who is not breathing they will be asked to send someone for a defibrillator (AED) and commence CPR until the ambulance or a trained first responder arrives on scene.