When Quattro Trainer Paul Met Tesco Shopper Clara - Every Little Helped

 When Quattro trainer Paul Allison dropped into to Tesco in Lockerbie to buy something for his tea, another shopper collapsed in front of him.  As a qualified First Aider, Paul leapt into action putting his skills to good use.

Paul Allison

Quattro Trainer

‘I had been doing some training up at Quattro’s AB2T Academy in Whitburn, Scotland.  On the drive home I stopped in Tesco Lockerbie to get something for my tea.  I walked around the corner and a lass collapsed in front of me.  She tripped over.  She was flat out unconscious.  I shouted staff to get an ambulance whilst I made sure she was all right.

The Tesco staff looked worried after she hit her head.  I said, I’m a first aid instructor, I can take over, and they stood ready to help, relieved I think.  I kept things calm for 45 mins as we waited for the ambulance.

I didn’t want to move her so I checked her breathing, her head, neck and back.  Soon she came round and sat up, so I made sure there was nothing around her that she could hurt herself with.  I asked her if she could feel my fingers.  I also asked if she had epilepsy or allergies; anything that could affect her.  She said no, she was worried about getting her kids from school.

What frustrated me was the fact that people were standing around attempting to take pictures!  On First Aid  courses now it is emphasised there has to be a level of crowd control, sadly, which you wouldn’t expect.  I took control of the privacy immediately and put a stop to it. The Tesco staff put screens around us and no pictures were taken.

If I had my way everybody would be first aid trained.  It increases confidence.  You know it and you hope you’ll never have to use it, but when you do, it kicks in, danger, response, airways, breathing… it takes over.  '

Clara contacted the Quattro Facebook page to say thank you to the mystery helper, which we now know is trainer Paul.

‘At one point I was shopping and next I saw your colleague’s face. I don’t know what happened. I just woke up and thought, what’s going on here?  I had been to a meeting and didn’t eat anything beforehand so maybe my blood sugar dropped.  He was so good, honestly, never left my side. He smiled the whole time when he was trying to help me.  

The ambulance came and did the finger prick, took my blood pressure and monitored me, and everything was fine.  He was so reassuring, I have 3 kids as well, and was a bit scared.

I want to say thank you to him for being there and to tell him he was a great help.  I would like to thank him in person.  I spoke to a girl on the way out and she told me he worked for Quattro.'

Paul and Clara have since connected on the phone.

‘I’m just glad I was there for her.  I hope she’s doing well, now.  Incidentally I do go into that Tesco all the time so we might bump into each other under less worrying circumstances.  It’s nice of her to get in touch; it makes what I do worthwhile.’

Well done Paul Allison.  Every little helps.

If you’d like to consider First Aid training, group or individual courses are widely available all around the country, as well as at Quattro.