It was a dramatic ending to a girlie weekend away when five nurses suddenly found themselves plunged into duty when a train driver suddenly collapsed of a heart attack.
The nurses, who all work together in the burns and plastics unit at Royal Preston Hospital, are firm friends as well as colleagues and arranged a long weekend away together in Scarborough.
But as they were heading back to Preston on the train, they found their nursing skills called into action when the driver was forced to make an emergency stop because he was feeling unwell.
The Evening Post revealed how a group of mystery Preston nurses on board the First Transpennine Express service came to the aid of the train driver and looked after him until emergency services arrived.
The identity of the modest nurses has now been revealed after one of their mums contacted the LEP to recount their heroic actions.
The five women are: Lisa Elliott, ward manager in plastics and burns and staff nurses Aimee Heath, Kathryn Jackson, Natalie Dignan and Lynsey Swarbrick.
Together with a nurse from Scarborough who was also on the train, they leapt into action when the train conductor asked if any of the passengers had any medical training when the incident occurred on Monday September 17.
Kathryn Jackson, 32, of Ashton, Preston, said: “We instantly knew there was something wrong when the train suddenly came to an abrupt halt.
“We were sat very near the front of the train and we could see him slumped over near the door.
“That’s when the conductor asked if there was anyone with medical training so we all rushed to help.”
The nurses lowered the driver to the floor and put him in the recovery position. They found a first aid box, but all it had was bandages and plasters, so they had to go back to basics to help the driver.
Natalie Dignan, 32, of Fulwood, Preston, said: “There was no oxygen or defribillators or anything else, so we had to use our initiative.
“We raided our travel bags and used a pillow to make him comfortable.
“The driver was cold, clammy, grey and unresponsive at first, but after we put him in the recovery position, he began responding and was drifting in and out of consciousness.
“Our nursing instinct just kicked in. Because we are used to working together as a team at work anyway, we knew what we had to do and just got on with it.”
Lisa Elliott, 34, of Penwortham, near Preston, said: “It was a very unexpected ending to our break away, but we were just glad we were able to help.
“It was very different from a ward environment, but we are trained to administer first aid in whatever the circumstances.”
Amy Heath, 33, of Penwortham, added: “We don’t think of ourselves as heroines and it was a shock to see the story in the paper.”
The train driver was airlifted by Yorkshire Air Ambulance from the train, which had stopped in a location with steep embankments on both sides.
The helicopter rescue was filmed for a BBC programme Helicopter Heroes.
The driver, who was in his 50s, has made a good recovery and has been discharged from hospital.
Nurse Kathryn Jackson admits it wasn’t the first time her lifesaving skills were called into action. Last year, while on her way home from Jamaica, a woman on the aeroplane collapsed.
Kathryn said: “It is part of your life when you are a nurse. You are never off duty and it is great to have the knowledge to help people when they need it.”
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