Asda Bangor colleagues praised for taking injured customer to hospital

Kind-hearted colleagues at Asda Bangor dropped everything to help an elderly lady who broke her ankle after fainting in the store – driving her straight to hospital and waiting until she was seen by medics.

First aiders Katherine Thompson and Leah Stevenson were called to the tills after the customer collapsed, injuring her head as well as her ankle.

George team leader Katherine said: “The first thing we noticed was that her head was bleeding as she’d hit it when she fainted, so that was our first priority. She’d come round quite quickly so we went through the first aid basics, cooled her down and called an ambulance as we didn’t want to risk anything with a head injury. The lady also said her foot was sore, and when we looked, it seemed obvious it was broken.”

With an off-duty paramedic in the store, Katherine and checkout colleague Leah had some back-up.

Katherine, who has worked at Asda Bangor for almost 20 years, said: “We put some screens up to protect the customer’s privacy and got some pillows that she could rest against. A paramedic, who happened to be in the store doing their shopping, was really helpful and did a triage with emergency services over the phone to assess the lady’s condition.

“The lady was in quite a bit of pain and there was going to be a bit of a wait for an ambulance, so we phoned the store manager to see if we could take her on ourselves. Leah drives, so we eased her into a wheelchair at the store and got her to the car.
“When we arrived at the hospital, the paramedics thanked Leah for bringing her directly.”
Katherine and Leah only left the customer once she was safely transferred to the care of the hospital.

Katherine added: “I later heard from a friend of the customer that she had broken her ankle. It was a difficult situation, but I’m glad Leah and I were there to help her when she needed it. Being a first aider is a really important role. I grew up with it as my dad was a first aider too, and when the opportunity to train came up, I jumped at it. We all wish the customer the very best, and a speedy recovery.”

Asda Bangor Community Champion Ami Craig added: “Katherine and Leah did a fantastic job and showed wonderful warmth and kindness to this lady in her time of need. We’re very proud of them, and as a team, send our best wishes to the customer.”