Off-duty doctor helped save life
A JUNIOR doctor yesterday told how he risked his life to save the Tube stabbing victim.
Despite fearing a Paris-style terror attack, Matt Smith ran to help the 56-year-old man who had been slashed in the throat at Leytonstone station.
Dr Smith had been on his way to meet his fiancee Rachel Warden for dinner when he heard screaming.
The 28-year-old, who had just finished his 11-hour shift, said: ‘A woman told me, “Don’t go down there, there’s a man with a knife,” but I went anyway to see what was happening.
‘As I walked down the stairs, there was a guy lying in a pool of blood with another passenger kneeling with him trying to help him.
‘The other passenger, who was an Irish guy, had taken off his jumper to try to stop the bleeding.
‘I didn’t see anyone with a knife around at that point, so I approached him and said, “I’m a doctor, can I help?”
‘I tried to stem the flow of blood. I took away the jumper, to assess the wound, but when I did I saw the injuries were pretty extensive so I very quickly put the jumper back and applied pressure.’
Dr Smith said he worried that the attacker may have been coming back.
He said: ‘I knew I had to get away if he came back, but I didn’t want to leave the there – so I asked him if he thought he could stand up, and he said yes.
‘I got him up on his feet and we made it up the stairs where we waited for paramedics. There was loads of noise downstairs and I thought this could be the start of a bigger terrorist attack. Then eventually the police came up, having Tasered him. The paramedics were amazing as well, they risked everything.
‘The Irish guy was so brave too, without him I don’t think the victim would have survived.’
Dr Smith, who works at East London’s Homerton Hospital, was covered in blood but stayed with police until 1.30am on Sunday giving statements, before his next shift at 6.30am.
He said: ‘I was meant to be having a special Christmas dinner with my fiancee Rachel, but that obviously went out of the window.
‘I only told her after the man had been detained what had happened.
‘She was pretty worried and had a lot of questions. I wasn’t quite able to answer them all.
‘I didn’t tell anyone at work, I didn’t see the need to. They’ve gradually found out over the past two days, but I don’t think I did anything that special.
‘It’s just what any doctor would do in the same situation.’
‘I tried to stem the
flow of blood’