An off-duty police officer has been given a national award after saving a man who collapsed in a shop in Cwmbran.
At midday on April 6 this year, Police Sergeant Adam Hollings was visiting a shop in Cwmbran’s shopping centre when a man nearby collapsed.
Hollings found that the man was not breathing and had no pulse.
He secured the area, directed shop staff to bring a defibrillator and commenced CPR.
Following two rounds of compressions, the sergeant used the device to administer a shock.
Resuscitation continued, and a second shock was delivered.
The man subsequently began showing signs of life before gradually regaining consciousness.
An ambulance attended and transported him to hospital.
It was later confirmed that the intervention had saved his life.
Royal Humane Society secretary Andrew Chapman said Hollings was in the right place and possessed the necessary skills to respond.
He praised the sergeant for carrying out CPR and operating the defibrillator as soon as it arrived, adding that the collapsed man would not have survived without Hollings’s prompt action.
Hollings has received the Royal Humane Society Resuscitation Certificate in recognition of what he did.
The society also encourages people to report incidents involving the rescue of others, including circumstances in which rescuers have endangered their own lives.
The Royal Humane Society was established in 1774 by medical men William Hawes and Thomas Cogan to advance resuscitation methods.
It now recognises acts of bravery involving the saving of human lives and presents awards according to the circumstances and degree of bravery displayed.
The organisation also honours non-healthcare professionals who successfully carry out resuscitation.
Its award scheme dates back nearly 250 years.
Since its foundation, the society has considered more than 90,000 cases and issued more than 220,000 awards.
It is a registered charity funded entirely through voluntary donations and does not receive public funding.