Lifeguards commended for composure in emergency

“You get to the stage where it’s the three Cs – cool, calm and collected – because you know what you’re doing,” says David Moore, a lifeguard at Swan Active Ballajura who responded when a patron suffered a seizure in the deep end of the pool.

It was in May last year when a patron swimming laps experienced a hyper-diabetic episode and started having seizures in the pool. David immediately jumped into the water to support and reassure the patron while Pool Supervisor Jess Cox called an ambulance and retrieved the first aid equipment.

“As soon as we saw it happening, Dave was straight down there, and I was straight to reception saying ‘call 000 now’ and got all our supplies like the defib and oxygen out while Dave got in the water ready to pull him out,” recalls Jess.

After the seizure ended, the patron lost consciousness and David and Jess worked quickly to remove him from the water. They then commenced CPR and administered oxygen until the patron started breathing again. The patron was taken to Joondalup Hospital where he later made a full recovery.

“It was good when the colour came back to his face and he started breathing again,” says David, who credits his 20-plus years in the industry and previous experience with emergency situations for his calm response to the incident. “You’re training through all those years, so you’ve just got a calmness. You just know what you’re doing and what to do."

For Jess, on the other hand, it was her first time dealing with a major incident.

“I definitely think you go into shock,” says Jess. “But then also from training and having all your supplies around and staff, it helps. When you start realising ‘oh, here we go, we need to perform CPR’, probably in real time it’s a millisecond but it kind of feels like a lifetime where you think to yourself ‘can I do this?’. You just have to do it; you start doing it.”

“I think the main thing is when you’re working in a team to try and support each other, keep calm and do the right things.”

Jess and David remained composed and professional while demonstrating exceptional skills in this emergency situation and were each awarded a Gold Star Bravery Award for their actions.

Humble about the recognition, David wants to impress upon people the importance of gaining first aid and CPR skills. He encourages everyone to undertake some training, “as it could save a life”.

Take David’s advice and equip yourself with lifesaving skills by enrolling in a course today!