Police praise physio’s efforts

An Epworth HealthCare physiotherapist has been praised by police for helping a man who collapsed in the street at Richmond.

Lucy Davenport, in her uniform as she walked home from Epworth Richmond, witnessed an older man fall heavily at a major intersection.

“He was in a lot of pain and quite distressed,” recalls Lucy.

“We called an ambulance and I checked him as he had a lot of spinal tenderness. At first, he seemed alert and stable, but then mentioned he had chest pain. I was concerned about the potential for a heart attack or cardiac arrest.”

Lucy used a heart rate monitor in her bag to confirm the man was stable before running to a local pharmacy to borrow an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) in case his condition worsened.

Police arrived to direct people around the scene and Lucy continued to wait with the man, distracting him with jokes and keeping him calm until an ambulance arrived.

Sergeant Gary Bourman from the Transit Safety Division of Victoria Police wrote to Epworth to thank Lucy.

“(Lucy) remained although she could have left. She demonstrated a superior level of care and commitment during this incident resulting in the male being attended to by Ambulance Victoria and taken to hospital in a stable condition. She also worked well with us during the incident and showed a superior level of care and commitment to a fellow human being.

“I was extremely impressed with what I witnessed and she is a credit to her employer. Her assistance was greatly appreciated and assisted the PSO and Police members in what could have resulted in a serious medical incident.”

Lucy’s boss, Ben de Zoete, Allied Health Manager, appreciated police taking the time to recognise Lucy’s care, service and communication in a challenging situation.

“Lucy is a highly skilled and genuinely empathetic health professional,” Ben said.

“She is a great asset to Epworth, showing similar care and regard for her patients and colleagues.”