The Direct Influence of Purposeful Training

Five years ago this month I was in the fortunate position of working for London Marine Consultants and operating from Vung Tau (Vietnam), overseeing HSE activities with an FPSO Turret build. I considered the 'fortunate' element based upon working for a great company, an outstanding management team and in a country where although I had worked before, I had not held a working status or as it would turn out, have the great opportunity of making a difference to someone's life.

Brief Outline - I was on my day off and relaxing in my apartment on the 19th floor, as I looked from the balcony and became aware of an increasing noise from below I saw a large number of people converging around the swimming pool on the 4th floor where a man was holding a little child upside down with a grip on the ankles and swinging aggressively! The body language of those nearest indicated to me that something was very wrong and I believed the child had been recovered from the water and was no longer showing signs of life.

Instinctively I raced from the apartment and headed to the lift...in an emergency time stood still and the lift took such a long time to climb to my floor, the doors appeared to take an eternity to close and the journey down to the 4th floor seemed to take minutes rather than seconds. Eventually, the doors opened and as I ran around to the pool access I suddenly thought...'what am I intending to do'!, had I made a wrong assessment of the situation?, maybe this was a child's father playing with his sons friends?...I realised as I approached that my fears were confirmed and as I got within 10 feet of where I had seen from the balcony the little frame of the child was now alone and abandoned on the tiles alongside the empty pool but a circle of men, women and children looked on in despair and grief.

Instinctive Action - I still don't to this day recall what I asked of those around the little boy...my history of training for this worst case event tells me that I would have asked a range of questions like "how long has he been unconscious", "does he have a pulse" but as the only expat among a huge and increasing number of Vietnamese onlookers no answers came and so I dropped to my knees and started doing something...

...I don't recall exactly how many compression's per breathes I followed, or how many times I checked for a pulse (to date I still complain as I re-attend courses and they seem to change this element at each course) but what was very evident was the volume of swollen rice I was presented with each time I gave a breathe...I recall asking for help but the language barrier was so frustrating and nobody would engage with me. The sound of an approaching siren echoing off the apartment building walls was in my ear for what seemed a life time and as I continued to work on this little lifeless body I imagined the busy streets of scooters causing the delays...eventually as I turned my head once again to listen for a breathe and check for a rising chest I saw a Doctor and Nurse in old style uniforms enter the swimming pool area and began working their way around the pool to my location. Once again I went immediately into 'auto mode' and began providing details of how long I had been conducting CPR, the state of the casualty...life signs etc, but I was pushed out of the way and within seconds a stretcher was laid alongside this little lifeless 5 year old body and he was gone! As the stretcher was led toward the awaiting ambulance everyone that had been standing watching me left with it. I recall remaining on my knees just looking down at the small shape of the child's frame which was now the only remaining evidence highlighted by spent and swollen rice grains.

I did not tell my work colleagues of the event that had occurred that day, several of us met that evening and I confess to having a desire for a 'good drink' to ease the constant image I had of that little boy at the pool edge. I tried many times to recall my actions, I questioned my timings and depth of compressions on that tiny chest...had I compressed the right area of the chest?, how had I measured the location of where to compress?...I am not afraid to share that I cried numerous times that night and thought many times of my two grown up daughters who were back in the UK and safe wherever they were and whatever they were doing.

The Outcome - To be told a week later by one of my work colleagues that he had been informed and thanked for saving a little Vietnamese boys life (mistaken identity) sent a surge of excitement through me initially...then some doubt based upon how long I had worked on him without the 'Bay Watch' style immediate recovery at the side of the pool side. Checks were made with the apartment block administration team and a welcomed 'yes' was passed...wow!, it slowly sank in that I may have made the difference that day.

Reason for this BLOG - Due to my continued work as a HSE Specialist, I have continued to undertake a number of courses since my eventful intervention in Vietnam five years ago. Several of these courses have seen me requiring an update or participation on CPR elements (BOSIET Refresher course being my most recent) and I was disappointed to note that several elements of this session were poorly conducted. The Instructor did the required demonstration however, as we (course delegates) took our turn to replicate the recommended steps, several were clearly not compressing in the correct place, or to the correct depth and several allowed the airway to close on breathe inhalation and these were not corrected by the overseeing Instructor as their attention was drawn into another subject conversation by one of the delegates. Between the delegate team we voiced a supportive direction to address the initial omissions and filled the oversight by the Instructor but the established OPITO standards were not followed and potentially missed. The remainder of that course undertaken in Aberdeen had in my opinion (as an ex OPITO Instructor) been poorly achieved also e.g. several defective re-breather systems had to be changed out, a safety diver rudely skitted water into my face before insisting I re-do an exercise, woefully poor condition smoke hoods were issued for use during the synthetic smoke filled compartment exercise and when demonstrating the safe use of extinguishers the demonstrated Dry Powder extinguisher was operated into the wind (from a downwind position) which covered both the Instructor and delegates at the start of the session.

While recognising the standard of training is 'apparently' dictated by industry standards, and not trying to be seen as an old war horse of (when I was delivering training as an Instructor blah blah blah), it remains imperative that quality, realism and the highest of standards are maintained at all times...particularly now as the offshore industry is seeing a large input of 'new' personnel expressing an interest in a career, and a shortfall of skilled personnel availability.

My input into saving that little boy in Vietnam I attribute to 'brummie Lloyd' who was my inspirational mentor when I joined the RAF Fire Service at 18 years old as although I felt I knew everything, I was in fact as green as grass. As a 'blank canvas' and although not seen by myself at the time I look back with respect at the expression that has, and shall live with me...

..."we each carry a responsibility to achieve the highest of standards, the day we don't perform correctly and do what we should do at our best, we will carry a stone around our necks for the rest of our lives"...

Thanks for making a difference to that little boy's life Mr Lloyd!.