
10 March 2017
RMT Press Office:
THE PROMPT action of a train guard at Liverpool South Parkway station on Tuesday evening (March 7) saved the life of a diabetic passenger who was slipping into a hypoglycaemic coma, the man’s mother claimed yesterday.
In a dramatic call to BBC Radio Merseyside’s Roger Philips show on Wednesday (March 8), the mother, who gave her name as Mary, said that without the guard’s actions she believed her son would have died, and called for guards to be kept on all trains.
As he made his way down the train the guard on the Northern Line service had found the man apparently asleep but sweating profusely.
Recognising the signs of a ‘hypo’, the guard managed to rouse the passenger sufficiently to confirm that he was diabetic and immediately raised the alarm.
Station staff assisted in getting him off the train, contacted the emergency services, enlisted the help of an off-duty nurse, and informed the man’s family. The passenger was discharged later that night after treatment.
RMT General Secretary Mick Cash said:
“Without the guard working his way through that train this unfortunate passenger could have been missed entirely, with potentially tragic consequences.
“This is yet another example of why we need a guard on every train, but if Merseyrail get their way that guard would simply not be there.
“Driver-only train operation is being spun as modern and safe, but beneath the spin it is nothing more than a money-saving attack on everyone’s safety.”
ends
08/03/2017, Roger Phillips - BBC Radio Merseyside
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Note to editors: the mother’s call to BBC Radio Merseyside can be heard here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04t09qw (nine minutes in)