Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) lifeguards at Langland Bay, Swansea, brought vital medical assistance to an 83-year-old man on the afternoon of Thursday 5 August.
RNLI lifeguards had been alerted by a council attendant at Langland Bay that the man, who was with his family, had been taken ill while on the road walking away from the beach.
Lifeguard Kieran Hennah, and area RNLI lifeguard supervisor Chris Vaughan who was in the area at the time, went immediately to the casualty with an RNLI medical trauma pack and then administered oxygen and ensured the man’s airways were clear.
The lifeguard pair continued to tend to the man until paramedics arrived.
The paramedic assessed the condition of the man and felt he needed immediate attention, so asked the lifeguards to stretcher the casualty back to the RNLI lifeguard unit on the beach.
The casualty was eventually taken by road ambulance to the hospital.
RNLI area lifeguard supervisor Chris Vaughan said: ‘We were glad to assist this elderly gentleman who was in distress. His family thanked the paramedic and ourselves for the timely assistance we were able to give.
‘It was also very nice to hear the paramedic say to the family to give special thanks to those lifeguards who had done all the hard work. ‘Our primary task is to provide a safe environment at the beach but increasingly we are glad to be able to bring our professional first aid training into use beyond the immediate confines of the beach. Of course, we are always glad to help if we can be first on the scene.’
In a separate incident RNLI lifeguards in the Swansea area assisted Coastguard in trying to find a 63-year-old woman who went missing near Mumbles Pier. The woman was eventually located in Plasmarl.
