Renowned cardiologist Douglas Chamberlain helps save man's life using defibrillator installed through Argus campaign

Renowned cardiologist Douglas Chamberlain was at a Hove Rotary Club meeting when one of the members collapsed suffering a cardiac arrest.

Professor Chamberlain, now in his 80s, arranged for CPR to be carried out while he organised the defibrillator and managed to get the man’s heart started again while waiting for paramedics to arrive.

By the time the patient, who was believed to be aged about 90, reached the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton he was well enough to give details of his relatives to medical staff.

The defibrillator had only been installed at the Hove Club in Fourth Avenue for a few weeks and this was the first time it had been used.

The venue is used as a meeting place for various groups and is also used for functions.

It was donated by the rotary club, who also meet there, after members decided to back The Argus's Save a Life campaign.

The campaign calls on businesses, hotels, schools, groups, organisations and charities to work to get defibrillators installed in as many places as possible in their community.

Defibrillators are completely safe to use and will only work if it detects a person’s heart has stopped.

Prof Chamberlain, who lives in Hove, is also known for his efforts promoting the use of defibrillators and basic first aid skills.

He said: “I was at the end of one table and the man was on another table. I had my back to him.

“I then heard someone say he had tripped over. I asked if he had got up but he hadn’t so I got up and went over.

“I then organised people to do the CPR while we got the defibrillator and I shocked him. We waited a bit and then I could feel a pulse and I knew he was with us.

“It was the first time I’ve had to use a defibrillator for a few years, but as I’ve always said, they are very easy to use.

“If the defibrillator had not been there it is extremely unlikely he would have survived.

“But thanks to the campaign, and the donation by the club, a machine was there and it made all the difference."

Prof Chamberlain dismissed calls that he had been heroic when the man fell ill on Tuesday.

He said: “I certainly wasn’t heroic. Anyone could have and would have done it. I just happened to be there and they let me get on with it.”

Rotary club secretary Peter Reeve said: “We heard a presentation from Douglas and from the ambulance service about defibrillators earlier this year and we decided we would press ahead and get one.

“The Hove Club installed it in the lobby area and it is accessible to everyone who uses the building.

“It was good it was there and we know it is easy to manage. Obviously it also helped that Douglas was there as well.”

The man who was saved was said to be still recovering in hospital yesterday.

You can read our leader opinion column here

FOUNDER OF PARAMEDIC SERVICE BACKING 'SAVE A LIFE'

HE may be a modest man and refuses to accept being called heroic, but there is little doubt Douglas Chamberlain has saved many lives – whether directly or indirectly.

The professor arrived in Brighton in 1970 to take up a post as a consultant cardiologist at the Royal Sussex County Hospital.

More than 40 years later he has a worldwide reputation for his work as the founder of the paramedic service in Europe – as well as his tireless efforts promoting the use of defibrillators and basic first aid skills.

Back in the 1970s, consultants were asked to carry out house calls and on one occasion Prof. Chamberlain was needed to help a patient suffering a cardiac arrest.

He called for an ambulance but when it arrived it did not carry a defibrillator, which in those days was kept by the city’s medical director.

The patient died and the incident left Prof Chamberlain furious and determined to find a way to improve the care patients got before they were taken into hospital.

He met up with Brighton’s medical officer for health, William Parker, to thrash out the issue and the birth of the first paramedic service in England and indeed Europe began. The service was launched in early 1971 and immediately began making a difference.

Previously, ambulance workers were used to ferry patients into hospital and doctors would respond to emergencies. But now the team could provide instant care and support for the patient before bringing them in and more lives were saved.

Prof. Chamberlain then arranged for a new type of defibrillator to be brought in from the US, which anyone could use and could not do any harm.

It meant for the first time, the machines could be put into the hands of people not medically trained.

The training of paramedics was also extended so they could deal with all trauma and medical emergencies, including heart attacks and the service eventually became a degree level profession.

Prof Chamberlain continues to work in the UK and around the world to promote the importance of CPR and get as many defibrillators installed in as many different locations as possible.

As well as backing The Argus Save a Life campaign, he is also a keen advocate on teaching CPR and first aid skills to schoolchildren, saying the earlier people learn how to do it, the more likely they are to put what they have learned into practice.

He helped The Argus campaign reach its target of getting 50 defibrillators installed in businesses, hotels, schools and other places within six months. 
Prof Chamberlain has maintained a major interest in resuscitation and pre-hospital care, and played a role in the development of the European Resuscitation Council and the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation.

He is an honorary adviser to the South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust and also supports charities such as the Sussex Heart Charity.

In a previous interview with The Argus, he said: “The time scale for successfully treating a cardiac arrest rapidly passes and speed is of the essence.

“I can’t stress strongly enough that the defibrillator machine requires no skills. It talks you through what you need to do and you can’t do any harm.”