Eurostar Gary speeds to the rescue

South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust Maids Moreton based Ambulance Care Assistant Gary Walton has been praised by Eurostar for his part in an incident on one of their trains travelling from Paris to London on 22 October 2012.

Off duty Gary was enjoying the ride when an announcement was made requesting medical assistance for a young woman who had suffered a severe allergic reaction to some nuts she had eaten. Gary, who was the first person on scene, reassured the casualty and repositioned her to aid her breathing before asking Eurostar to put a call out for an EpiPen (adrenaline) auto-injector and antihistamines as he realised the patient was going into anaphylactic shock. Gary collected the medications other passengers on the train had volunteered.

A GP, who was also travelling on the train, then arrived on scene and took over caring for the patient before handing her over in London to family members who were waiting to take her home in a taxi. Jon Witt of Eurostar's CEO office said: 'Gary dealt impeccably with matters, managing to keep the customer calm whilst administering the necessary medical care. An option was presented by us to stop the train but Gary gave consideration to the various implications that would have, and through his expert care prevented this from being necessary.

'Our onboard staff were full of praise and gratitude for Gary. It is an understatement to say that we are very grateful for his actions, but that is certainly the case.'