Lifeguards thanked for saving stricken OAP
A SENIOR citizen who suffered a heart attack in a leisure centre swimming pool was saved by the quick thinking actions of lifeguards.
Roy Griffiths, aged 65, was pulled from the water at Morriston Leisure Centre after suffering a cardiac arrest during a visit on October 9.
The life-savers were unable to find any vital signs of life for more than eight minutes as they performed CPR, and eventually used the centre’s defibrillator on him, administering five shocks.
He was subsequently taken to Morriston Hospital, from where he has now been discharged having had three stents and and ICD implant.
Mr Griffiths has been visiting the centre for up to 10 years, often a number of times a week.
His family have now paid tribute to the professionalism of those people who saved his life. Roy’s son Chris said: “Dad is a regular swimmer at the leisure centre, and is well known by staff, he’s like part of the family.
“He swims a mile there sometimes four times a week, and is pretty fit for his age. He hasn’t been suffering from any illness, so there were no warning signs.
“He was quite fortunate because when it happened there were four supervisors on duty, as they were switching shifts.
“A member of staff was looking at her daughter being taught to swim, and saw dad stop and turn on his side.
“They pulled him out, and carried out CPR but he was not responsive, and he had no vital signs such as his pulse, which was when they used the defibrillator.”
Roy, a retired electrician with Swansea Council, was accompanied to hospital by members of staff, including an instructor who had jumped out of the pool and went with him while still wet and wearing their bathing clothes under their clothes.
Staff also sent a member of staff to collect Roy’s wife Carol from home, to take her to the hospital to be with her husband.
Chris said: “The way the staff behaved was absolutely overwhelming.
It is very humbling they are relatively young but they responded incredibly.”
The team which helped save Mr Griffiths’s life were Ralph Lewis, Liam Diment, Liam Coates, Rhys Page-walker, Owain Hughes, Sarah Bevan and Amina Meah.
The family is raising money to pay for another defibrillator, to be fitted in nearby Morriston RFC.
Jim Kelly, area manager of Freedom Leisure which runs the centre, said: “We are delighted to welcome Roy back, and over the moon that he has done so well in his recovery.”