A TRIO of teenage boys who helped a homeless man in distress have been commended by the West Midlands Ambulance Service for their “quick thinking and compassion”.
Xzavier Houghton – aged 14, Ess McNicholas – aged 15 and Alfie-Jay Vincent aged 15 were in Shard End on a practice expedition for their Duke of Edinburgh Awards, when they came across the man having a suspected seizure.
Having recently started a First Aid course as part of the Award scheme, the Smith’s Wood Academy pupils sprang into action to help the man.
Alfie-Jay said: “We were out on a Duke of Edinburgh expedition with a group of friends, mapping coordinates and following routes. We went to get our lunch from the Coop in Shard End, and as we walked out, we saw a man on the floor. He looked like he was in pain, lying on his side.”
Xzavier said: “Alfie put the man in the recovery position and covered him with his blanket, and Ess and I helped gather his belongings together and stayed with him. Ess called for the staff, and they called 999.”
According to the Ambulance Service, bystanders followed the boys’ guidance and stood by the man until paramedics were able to step in.
A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokeswoman said: “When someone calls 999 it’s immensely helpful to our call assessors to receive concise information about what’s wrong with the patient as well as their exact location which is exactly what the boys did in this case.
“Similarly, when ambulance staff arrive on scene it’s always a positive sight for them to see someone caring for the patient, which, on this occasion, were the boys.
“We’d like to thank them for their quick thinking and compassion. You should be very proud of your actions.”
Hearing of the boys’ heroic actions was both shocking and impressive to the school’s Head of PSHE and Duke of Edinburgh Award Manager, Sophie Weightman.
She said: “It was initially a shock when I got the phonecall! When students learn First Aid I hope that they will be able to use those skills if a future situation calls for it – I just didn’t expect it to prove useful so soon!
“It was proud moment to hear that the boys supported not only the man who was unwell, but also the people around them. It’s not easy to control a scene, and the way they took charge is admirable. It took so much courage.”
The boys had been learning First Aid under the tutelage of Tracy Stevens, from Smith’s Wood’s Finance Department, for only a month prior to the event. It formed part of the school’s recently relaunched Duke of Edinburgh Scheme, which began in March this year.
Principle Stephen Huntington said: “We are very proud of the actions of Alfie-Jay, Xzavier and Ess, who acted responsibly in a challenging situation.
“At Smith’s Wood we work hard to prepare our students to be responsible members of the community when they leave us, and this shows that schemes like the Duke of Edinburgh Awards provide valuable skills they can use later in life.”
