A 65-YEAR-OLD man from Christchurch has been thanking staff at Poole Hospital who saved his life after his heart stopped for a few minutes following a routine operation.

Trevor Pickering was admitted to A&E on Saturday March 18 to remove a piece of pork that was stuck in his throat.

The owner of Mayday Fire Protection Services in Christchurch came round from his anaesthesia to be told that he lost cardiac output and needed resuscitating.

He said: “I was admitted as an emergency admission to the ENT ward and was given a theatre slot at 4.30pm.

"I was told by one of the nurses before I went under that it was a straightforward simple op and I would be back on the recovery ward before I knew it.

"When I woke up, the anaesthetist was holding my hand with the surgeon who did the operation stood at the bottom of my bed.

"I was told everything went well, they freed the obstruction from my throat, but post op my blood pressure dropped and lost cardiac output immediately. My heart stopped for a minute or two, chest compressions were carried out and I came back."

Trevor was under for all of 45 minutes and after being checked over by hospital staff, he was then taken to the acute cardiac unit of the hospital for overnight observation and discharged the following day.

He added: “To this day, they do not know how that happened, as I am a healthy guy.

“The main outcome of this, the fact they saved my life it did not sink in straight away, until I was watching Our Girl on BBC1 and saw a soldier being given CPR and it brought it home to me what could have happened.

“I now see life in a different way and do not take things for granted anymore, I had not even done a will or a bucket list something like this makes you think.”

To show his appreciation for frontline workers and to help struggling Dorset charities, Trevor is offering local charities and hospices in the Dorset area free servicing of their fire equipment for the next 12 months.

Trevor said: “These NHS workers are absolute heroes, treating people on the front line and saving lives. They deserve every penny and more.

“I obviously made a donation to the NHS but, like Captain Tom Moore, I wanted to do something.

“As a lot of charities and hospices will be struggling after lock down financially, as I run a Fire Protection company, what better way to help them than to offer to service all their fire equipment free of charge in the Dorset area.”

To find out more and to enquire about free fire services, visit www.maydayfps.co.uk.