South Staffordshire Plc held its third health and safety conference last week at Six Ways Stadium in Worcestershire.
The conference brought together leaders from across the Group to launch a new ‘Staying Safe Together’ health, safety and wellbeing strategy. The event, which took place on 3 July, was led by Group Head of Health and Safety, Richard Brookes, who was joined by Group CEO, Charley Maher, Group Chief Financial Officer Rob O’Malley, and guest speaker, Al Peasland, Head of Technical Innovation Partnerships at Williams Racing.
As part of the day, several colleagues were presented with awards in a ceremony that celebrated outstanding contributions to health and safety in the workplace.
Michael Leech, Site Manager, from IWS M&E was delighted to be awarded the CEO’s Award for his lifesaving efforts when a colleague collapsed onsite earlier this year.
On that day, Michael found his colleague, Henry, laying under his desk blue in the face and not breathing. Michael’s adrenaline kicked in and he called an ambulance and started CPR. Luckily, Michael had completed a first-aid course just a few months earlier and the training was still fresh in his mind.
The CPR did not work at first, so Michael rolled Henry into the recovery position, tilted his head back to open his airways and started hitting his back. After a gasp of air, Henry slowly started breathing. Michael was then joined by another first aider who assisted with the ambulance and was a reassuring presence for Michael.
Michael commented: “When the ambulance arrived, I felt a huge sense of relief but was still concerned about the outcome as Henry wasn’t communicating or recognising anyone. At this stage I was wondering if I had I done enough. Did I do the right thing? How can I assist?”
A second ambulance arrived, and Henry was taken to the local hospital where he would spend five days in the Intensive Care Unit. Over the five days Michael wondered if he had done enough but his colleagues offered help in any way possible which made him feel at ease and supported. He paid a visit to Henry once he was rested. Luckily, Henry will make a full recovery with a little physiotherapy.
“Until you are in that position you will never know how you will act. After it all settled, I was proud of myself and how I acted,” Michael added.
“To be recognised by my colleagues, the Group and the executive team is a huge honour, and I was very grateful to be nominated for the award let alone win it. I would like to thank James Gross, IWS M&E Frameworks manager for his support and assistance with the incident and everyone who reached out with kind messages.”
