Day one as a doctor and she saves fiancé's life

A MEDICAL student saved her first patient just hours after graduation when her fiancé started to choke during their celebratory dinner.

Claire Lomas was still wearing her ceremonial robes when Jamie Taylor began to turn blue at the restaurant table.

The couple, from Errol, Perthshire, had been out for a meal with friends and family to celebrate her success at the University of Dundee.

But during the main course, Mr Taylor swallowed a piece of chicken too quickly. The 25-year-old accountancy student started to panic – but his partner stepped in and performed the Heimlich manoeuvre to clear his airway.

Recalling the dinner at Spice restaurant in Broughty Ferry, Dundee, on Tuesday, he said yesterday that he was thankful to be her first patient.

He said: "I spluttered a little at first then I couldn't draw in a breath – I just thought, 'That's it, I'm dead'.

"I tapped Claire on the shoulder but couldn't speak so I just pointed at my throat as the panic set in. She could see the terror in my eyes.

"I was close to being unconscious, but then Claire jumped up and did the Heimlich manoeuvre seven or eight times and the chicken came flying out like a bullet.

"If Claire hadn't been there and something like that had happened in the house, I would have been a goner."

He added: "It lasted about five minutes. I felt the obstruction at the bottom of my throat. I coughed a lot but I just couldn't shift it.

"Spice waiters came over to give me a glass of water and my sister-in-law was trying to get an ambulance."

Ms Lomas, who will soon start work at Perth Royal Infirmary as a junior doctor – before transferring to Ninewells Hospital after four months – said that she feared for Mr Taylor's life during the incident.

The 28-year-old, who has a two-year-old son, Kyle, with Mr Taylor, said: "I learned the Heimlich at uni and practised it on the dummies – but I had never done it on a real person before.

"I really thought Jamie was going to die because he was turning blue and couldn't breathe for over two minutes. I just kept thinking, 'He's the father of my child, he can't die'.

"Then I went into medical mode and did what I had to do.

"I've never saved anyone's life before but it was a very fulfilling feeling."

Thanks to her actions, Mr Taylor did not require hospital treatment and their party continued to enjoy their meal – though Mr Taylor elected to skip dessert.

Mohammed Zeeshan, the restaurant owner, said: "I gave him something to drink and tried to make him comfortable. I just wanted to make sure he was OK."

BACKGROUND

SINCE the technique was introduced in 1974, the Heimlich manoeuvre – now known as abdominal thrusts – has saved more than 100,000 lives.

Those with a reason to be grateful include Cher, former US president Ronald Reagan, Elizabeth Taylor, and even a cocker spaniel.

The manouvre involves a rescuer standing behind a patient and using their hands to exert pressure on the bottom of the diaphragm.

This compresses the lungs and exerts pressure on any object lodged in the trachea, creating something akin to an artificial cough.

However, due to the forceful nature of the procedure, even when done correctly it can cause abdominal bruising and more severe injuries.

Helen Brady, co-ordinator of Heartstart Discovery, a charity that trains members of the public to deliver basic life support, said: "When someone is unable to breathe, their heart might stop, which is why it's so important to clear the breath-way."