Paihia i-Site staff save life of British tourist suffering cardiac arrest

I-Site Paihia visitor information consultant Chris Albrecht and the AED used to save a tourist's life. Photo / Supplied

An i-Site Paihia staff member says it was down to instinct that he and a colleague were able to save the life of a British tourist unresponsive in his car.

Chris Albrecht and Maxine Whautere were closing up for the day on December 15 when a woman ran in calling for help. Her friend was having a heart attack.

The two visitor information consultants didn’t hesitate. Whautere immediately phoned 111 while Albrecht ran to the man’s aid.

The tourist, believed to be in his 70s, was unresponsive in the passenger seat of a car pulled up on the grass verge outside the i-Site on Marsden Rd.

He had no pulse and had stopped breathing. By the time Albrecht reached his side, the man’s skin had started to turn blue.

Local retailers and the man’s friends helped Albrecht lay him under the trees where a passerby began CPR.

Albrecht ran back to the i-Site and grabbed the defibrillator (AED) from its place at the entrance.

Although he had received first aid training on how to use the lifesaving device, he had never done it “for real”.

Albrecht quickly attached the defibrillator’s pads to the man’s chest and followed the voice instructions it issues.

After a couple of minutes, the man’s heart restarted and he began to breathe again.

He remained in a stable condition until paramedics arrived and airlifted him to Whangārei Hospital.

His friends told Albrecht: “I think you saved his life.”

The consultant said while the event was extremely stressful, they were lucky the right people were on hand to help.

“You can have all the training in the world but you never know how you will react in the moment - it’s still down to instinct.”

Albrecht’s advice to others who may find themselves in his shoes was to follow the defibrillator instructions carefully.

AEDs are available to the public from certain locations. People are able to find their nearest defibrillator via aedlocations.co.nz/