Families of loved ones saved by emergency services back statue to 999 heroes

Families of those whose lives have been saved by the emergency services have backed The Telegraph’s campaign for a statue to recognise the dedication, bravery and professionalism of all 999 staff.

The statue, which will be the first national memorial for thousands of emergency service workers killed in the line of duty, has already won the support of the Duke of Cambridge, the Prime Minister and five of his predecessors.

Now the families of loved ones saved by 999 staff have given their backing to the project, along with the £3 million fundraising campaign needed to get it built.

The bronze monument is being designed by Philip Jackson, a sculptor to the Queen and widely considered Britain’s greatest living sculptor.

The National Emergency Services Memorial will commemorate the lives of more than 7,000 people who died while serving in the police, fire, coastguard and search and rescue services, but will also celebrate the work “and dedication of over two million serving in our emergency services today”.

Among those giving their support to the campaign are the family of Tommy Smith, who was just 11 months old when he suffered a heart attack and collapsed at his family home in Bingham, Nottingham, last January.

Realising something was desperately wrong his mother Candice, 29, and her husband Neil rang 999 and were put through to call handler Stacey Byard who immediately provided CPR instructions over the phone, giving baby Tommy the best chance of survival.

Mr Smith, 39, said: “If it wasn’t for her calmly talking me through CPR for Tommy, and the specialist paramedics who arrived soon after, Tommy would not be with us today.

“We’re eternally grateful to the emergency services and a statue like this is a great way of remembering and commemorating all the wonderful work they do.”

Within four minutes of the Smiths’ emergency call, Community First Responder Alison Curtis, who joined the ambulance service after her own son suffered a heart attack, arrived on the scene and took over resuscitation.

Minutes later technicians Adam Fardon and Vruthi Patel arrived on scene, making the decision to shock Tommy.

Tommy arrived at Queen’s Medical Centre conscious and alert, and was later transported to Glenfield Hospital where he spent three weeks recovering.

Now 19 months old, he has been fitted with an internal defibrillator designed to shock him if his heart stops again. Over just one five day period in March his heart stopped 14 times, prompting the defibrillator into action.

Mr Smith, a former police officer turned environmental health investigator, said: “It’s often the unsung heroes in these situations who get forgotten, like the call handler who talked me through giving Tommy CPR. Just because they aren’t riding in an ambulance doesn’t mean they don't have a crucial role.

“If the entire team hadn’t responded the way they did Tommy wouldn't be here today.”

Another family throwing their support behind The Telegraph’s National Emergency Services Memorial campaign is that of Brian Elgie, whose life was saved by a paramedic after he suffered heart failure in the back of an ambulance.

In August 2017 Craig Priestnall, a paramedic at King’s Mill Ambulance Station in Nottingham, received the call to Brian Elgie, 69, who collapsed at his home in Edwinstone, near Mansfield.

When he arrived, Mr Priestnall found the pensioner collapsed at the bottom of the stairs suffering a head injury after hitting a radiator, and although he had regained consciousness and appeared in good spirits, he was still keen to have him checked out at hospital.

But in the back of the ambulance Mr Elgie went into heart failure, forcing the vehicle to pull over so Mr Priestnall could prepare to inject him with life-saving drugs.

Fortunately Mr Elgie came back round, but Mr Priestnall’s careful observation and quick thinking meant Accident and Emergency staff at King’s Mill Hospital knew they needed to fit him with a pacemaker as quickly as possible.

Mr Elgie’s daughter, Kerry, 43, a lab equipment sales consultant, said Mr Priestnall saved her father’s life.

She said: “If it wasn’t for Craig’s fast actions and calm professionalism we would never have captured his heart failure on the monitor, never known how fatal dad’s unknown heart condition actually was and dad would never have been fitted with a pacemaker the following day.

“Craig was absolutely marvellous and I’ve got nothing but praise for him. None of the people who work for the emergency services are ordinary people, they are all marvellous and having a statue dedicated to them would be really really nice gesture.”