Nurse used CPR for first time to save dad

A nurse has told how he used CPR for the first time to help save his own father’s life after he collapsed with a cardiac arrest.

Although Stewart Beveridge, 40, received mandatory training in cardiopulmonary resuscitation as part of his job, he had never used it on a patient. That all changed in September when Bob Beveridge, 65, suffered a cardiac arrest while he was visiting Stewart in Stenhousemuir.

Stewart, who is a nurse at NHS Forth Valley, immediately began CPR while his father’s wife Elaine Mcginlay rang 999 and spoke to call handler Hayley Meldrum until an ambulance arrived.

His father spent several days in intensive care but is now recovering well, and the experience has prompted Stewart to urge everyone to learn CPR.

He said: “Throughout my 15 years of practice I have been fortunate to have not been in a situation where I’ve needed to carry out CPR on any patient. I never expected my dad would be my first experience in doing so.”