An MSP married to Strictly Star and TV doctor Punam Krishan jumped in to save a man’s life after he collapsed at the Scottish Parliament last week. Dr Sandesh Gulhane delivered emergency, on-the-spot CPR after a man became unresponsive and had no pulse.
The Scottish Conservative health spokesman intervened when he saw a man collapse whilst queuing to visit Holyrood. Dr Gulhane told BBC Radio Scotland’s Mornings programme: “Unfortunately he didn’t have a pulse and stopped breathing so we had to resuscitate him. We went through two cycles and we shocked him twice.
“We were then able to bring back his pulse and get him breathing again which was fantastic news. I do hope that he is OK and he is on his road to recovery.”
Dr Gulhane previously worked with a resus unit as a junior doctor before he became an MSP in Glasgow. “My concern was for people on the team who hadn’t experienced a situation like that before,” he said.
“If they hadn’t seen somebody potentially die and then have this happening. So I am proud of how well they all worked together and how we came together despite it being a lot of people’s first time.”
He added: “As a GP or a junior doctor, when these things happen, you have to continue your day, you can’t just stop. So I went back to the round table and got on with my day because it is important that you do move on from these situations.”
“There’s plenty of places where you can learn basic CPR and it’s free, like the British Heart Foundation, external or St John Ambulance, external,” he said.
“There’s no magic involved, it’s just a skill you can learn. But it’s also important to have a defibrillator because ultimately it was the defibrillator that saved this man’s life.”
Mr Gulhane has used his experience to encourage others to act fast in an emergency situation. He added: “If something happens, I’d encourage everyone to make sure it’s safe and start CPR, get someone to call an ambulance and get the defibrillator,” he said.
“It tells you what to do – the defibrillator will literally speak to you and tell you what to do. And don’t be scared, the 999 operator will also talk you through it and help you.”
A Scottish Ambulance Service spokesman confirmed it was called to the Scottish Parliament and a patient was taken to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh. He added: “If someone has had a cardiac arrest, early CPR and use of a defibrillator are essential to increasing the chances of survival.”
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