Praise for Chesterfield dad and landlady who saved woman's life when she had heart attack in Chesterfield pub

Mark Hewitt, 40, from Hollingwood, was enjoying a Saturday evening in the Hollingwood Pub with his son, Ashton, 13, twin brother, and niece, when Sandra Stevenson, came in to attend a private party upstairs.

She has just walked through the door when she had to sit down because she run out of breath. A few customers shouted as she soon passed out on the floor due to a heart attack.

The pub’s landlady, Leann Bradbury, ran over from the other side of the bar, cleared people away from the woman, called 999, and started CPR before being told by medical experts over the phone that she needs to use a defibrillator.

Mark, a principal engineer at AECOM, who has recently completed his first aid training, did not hesitate and took control of the situation. He checked Sandra’s pulse, breath, and airways. He also called 999, asked for the code to access the pub’s defibrillator and he patched the AED machine to administer the shock.

Mark continued the CPR treatment for over 15 minutes until the ambulance service arrived at the scene and the automatic chest compression machine was fitted.

Sandra was put into an induced coma in the ambulance and taken to the Chesterfield Royal Hospital. She still remians at the hospital, but her family has confirmed that she is doing much better and there is no danger to her life at the moment.

Following the incident, Mark said: “It’s a very surreal situation to have been in. I knew the importance of what was happening and how critical every second was. We all knew we needed to do everything we can to give that lady the best chance of getting through it.

“The paramedic at the scene said to us that we had just saved that lady's life. That still does not sink in at all. It was stressful, but I didn't really have time to feel it. Afterwards, both me and Leann were in shock about what had just taken place.”

Leann, 32, who has been a landlady at the Hollingwood Pub since May 2019, said: “I’ve done CPR before but not at this pub. The experience does not make it any less stressful or easier. In situations like this, instinct just kicks in and you do everything you can to help save somebody’s life.”

Following the incident, Mark stressed the importance of first aid training at work.

He said: “Leann and myself both had emergency first aid training and it was critical to the outcome on Saturday. The course covers AED machines as well as CPR. It’s a single base course and I believe you should repeat it every two-three years. The odds of surviving an incident like this without the use of an AED machine are around 80% lower. Being able to confidently use the machines and carry out CPR could mean a difference between life and death.”

Mark, who believes Sandra has survived because of the team effort of everyone at the pub has also praised the bar staff.

He said: “The bar staff were fantastic. They immediately secluded the area from all of the customers, including my son and niece. It very much aided me to get on with what I was doing and gave us all the best chance of saving the lady's life.

Leann added: “The staff were brilliant. They listened to instructions that I was telling them and made everyone’s job easier.”

Diane Ramsdale, Sandra’s sister thanked everyone involved in helping on the day and afterwards.

She said: “I would like to say a big thank you from myself and my family to Mark who gave my sister CPR. Everyone in A&E said you did a really good job! and helped save her life, you should be proud of yourself as we are.”

“We would also like to thank the wonderful ambulance crew and hospital staff who helped Sandra. You all do an incredible job every day. Thank you.”

As the words have spread about Mark’s heroic actions, he got plenty of messages thanking him for saving Sandra’s life and he has even received a bottle of wine from Diane as a thank-you gift.

He said: “It's great that people have said nice things and actually it's humbling. But I do not want to make a big deal out of this. I think I definitely share saving the woman’s life with everybody that was involved.

"Someone took care of my young son and niece who were with me at the time and kept calm while I was doing CPR. Thankfully they are both okay and not traumatized. They were happy to hear the lady who collapsed is okay now.

"Leann helped with CPR and staff maintaining the environment allowed me to do the CPR and was critical because you can imagine how difficult this could be in a busy bar environment if there would be a lot of people running around, panicking and shouting.”

After he received a bottle of wine, Mark added on Facebook: “The Lady whose party it was at the Hollingwood on Saturday just dropped this off at the pub for me. It's really not required, but many thanks. Thanks very much, Diane. If we have the capacity to help others, then it's our responsibility as human beings to do so.”