Quick action by hero lifeguard saves man’s life

The quick action of Northern Beaches Council senior lifeguard Scott Riddington saved the life of a swimmer who had suffered a cardiac arrest at Manly Andrew Boy Charlton Pool last weekend.

On Sunday morning, 36 years of lifesaving experience kicked in when Scott and his team noticed a man who was participating in a regular swim meet had collapsed by the side of a pool.

The alarm was raised immediately, and the MABC team leaped into action with staff clearing about 200 swimmers from five pools, calling for an ambulance, while Scott and his teammate Paul Demidjuk assessed the patient.

Scott says the man was not breathing, pale in colour and had sustained a deep cut to his head in the fall.

They immediately commenced CPR and administered a defibrillator shock.

To their delight, the man regained consciousness after one defib shock, minutes before paramedics arrived – estimated to be about eight minutes from emergency alert to arrival.

“The scene was chaotic with so many distressed onlookers, but all the pool staff performed amazingly well and did what they needed to do,” Scott said.

“You just go through what you’re trained to do,” Scott says reflecting on his experience.

Scott estimates that he has participated in at least 40 resuscitation incidents in his over a three-decade career as a lifeguard in Australia and abroad.

The resuscitated swimmer is recovering in hospital.

Over 33,000 people experience cardiac arrest in Australia every year. Less than nine per cent survive.

Northern Beaches Council recently published an online map of where all 45 of its defibrillator units are located.