Lifeguards praised after elderly man taken ill on Sunderland seafront

Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) lifeguards helped a ninety-four-year-old man at Seaburn beach yesterday morning.

A member of the public approached the charity’s team just after 10.40am to let them know that a pensioner was drifting in and out of consciousness on a bench on the promenade.Lifeguards Andrew Brown, Aaron Curle and Patryk Leszczewski rushed to the scene with their medical trauma bag, where they found the casualty had regained consciousness but was now suffering from severe pains in his side.After the elderly man was sick, the lifeguards monitored his airway to ensure that it was clear and administered oxygen. They then wrapped him in a blanket and kept asking questions to keep him alert.Fellow RNLI lifeguard Piotr Glowacki guided an ambulance to the scene while colleague Joe Wilson helped to maintain lifeguard cover on the beach.Paramedics placed the man into the ambulance and he was taken to hospital for further treatment.Tony Marsh and Melissa Robb coordinated radio communications during the incident from the RNLI Local Operations Centre (LOC).Senior RNLI Lifeguard Alex Richardson said: "The lifeguards demonstrated exemplary team work yesterday and performed vital emergency treatment on the elderly man. "Our charity’s lifeguards receive comprehensive first aid training as part of the role and it is this essential training that can really make a difference in situations like this."The team wishes the gentleman a quick recovery and we’re pleased that we were able to help him during such a traumatic time."