Former NHS worker's desperate bid to save life of woman in Havant beach buggy tragedy
Natalie Wilde’s health training kicked in as she performed CPR on 62-year-old Gillian Sandle as the victim’s shocked husband and passers-by watched on.
Mrs Sandle was left unconscious after her scarf became caught up in the wheel of the vehicle in North Street, Havant. Despite Mrs Wilde’s efforts, Mrs Sandle was pronounced dead after being rushed to Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth.
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Hide AdSpeaking to The News, Mrs Wilde, of Lower Road, Bedhampton, said: ‘I administered CPR for two minutes, until the first-response unit turned up.
‘She was unconscious. I didn’t think there was any chance of getting a pulse out of her.
‘There were a lot of elderly people around her, they couldn’t really do much. It was really distressing.
‘As soon as the first-response unit came, I let them take over, and a midwife who was around the corner carried on with chest compressions.
‘It’s absolutely awful what happened.
‘My heart goes out to the husband, he was in total shock.
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Hide Ad‘I stayed with him until the police came to take a statement.’
Mrs Wilde, a former medical data entry worker who was trained to perform CPR, said: ‘It was bizarre.
‘It was the first time I had ever had to use CPR. I’d never used it for the 10 years I was in the NHS.
‘My husband was amazed at how calm I remained.
‘But I just did everything I could until the ambulance got to her.’
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Hide AdMrs Wilde was out with her family for the day when she became involved in the drama.
She said: ‘I was with my partner and his daughter, we had parked in the small car park and gone to get breakfast.
‘Afterwards, we were walking around to get the car, and we could see a buggy parked up.
‘There seemed to be a lot of people standing around it.
‘We just assumed they were appreciating the cart.
‘So we walked to the car, and got to the exit before we were flagged down and my husband was asked for assistance.
‘We just assumed the buggy had broken down.
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Hide Ad‘He got out of the car, called me over, as he knew I had worked with the NHS and had CPR training.’
Mrs Wilde got her husband and others to hoist Mrs Sandle out of the buggy on to the floor so she could give emergency CPR.
Her injuries were too serious to perform the kiss of life, said Mrs Wilde.
Despite the tragic outcome, Mrs Wilde praised the ‘amazing’ work of medics and the midwife, who she said did all they could in the situation.
‘They were absolutely amazing,’ she said.
‘It’s just so unfortunate at this time of year.’
The incident happened between 12.35pm and 12.40pm on Sunday, December 18.
Anyone with information about the incident should call Hampshire Constabulary on 101 quoting 44160476293.