Nurses and doctors from Farrer Park Hospital (FPH) have won the praise of netizens after a story was posted on Facebook of how they rescued a driver who had suffered a stroke on May 23.
Staff Nurse (SN) Steve Mocsoy had noticed the car had hit the railings along the road near the hospital after he ended his shift and saw a lady trying to revive the driver.
He instinctively knew that the man needed medical assistance and called back to FPH to activate Code Pink.
According to the hospital, Code Pink is a Standard Operating Protocol to activate hospital personnel to assist in such medical emergencies.
Within five minutes, emergency staff rushed down to the scene with their equipment.
“I knew that the SCDF ambulance would take some time to arrive, but the man needed immediate medical attention,” said SN Steve.
“Activating Code Pink would allow the driver to receive immediate medical care as we were just beside FPH, and time is of the essence.”
The post described what happened in quick succession after the Code Pink was activated:
“Having run several Code Pink exercise a year, everyone worked in seamless co-ordination.
“ICU Head Nurse Badli checked the patient’s status.
“There was no trauma or bleeding but he was pale and his breathing was unsteady.
“As Badli started to attend to the patient, he instructed SN Steve to call SCDF.
“The patient was stuck in the driver’s seat as the door on that side was sealed shut against the railing.
“Gently they lowered the patient’s seat to put him in a more comfortable position.
“‘I would have preferred to raise his legs but we did not want to move him as we have yet to determine what injuries he may have sustained.’ Badli said.
“Dr Wong Ju Ming and Dr Clarence Liang were also on the scene, and together with Senior Staff Nurse (SSN) Wong Hui Ling, SN Carla Molina and SN Kwan Xiu Xian, ensured the patient airway was clear, a branula was set and an ECG was hooked up to monitor his heart rate.
“Dr Wong added, “Our thoughts were solely on stabilizing the driver until the SCDF arrive. As he was foaming and vomiting, we had to ensure that his airway is clear so that he could breathe.””
“While they were attending to the patient, SCDF had arrived.
“Seeing that there were medical experts on hand attending to the patient, they focused their attention on extracting the patient from his car.
“Once the patient was extracted and secured, our team did a handover to ensure all relevant information regarding the incident as well as the treatment process was well documented.
“Through a courtesy call, we understand that the patient had suffered a stroke while driving.
“It was fortunate that he was already slowing down at the junction and thus a major collision was avoided.
“Nevertheless, our thoughts and well wishes are with the gentleman and his family, and may he recover well.”
