Student nurse saves life in theatre drama

Kristian Keyte, from the University of the West of England, Bristol, was a few rows behind 71-year-old Judith Mansfield as the audience waited for the start of The Bodyguard at Bristol Hippodrome. When the pensioner suffered a sudden seizure, Kristian responded immediately by leaping out of his seat and helping to lift her on to the auditorium floor so he could check her airways.

Kristian, in his third year of an Adult Nursing BSc(Hons), said: "I don't really know why I noticed Mrs Mansfield. We were just waiting for the show to start but there was something that didn't seem quite right and then everything happened so quickly. I rushed over to her, could see that she was unresponsive and not breathing. With the help of others we lifted Mrs Mansfield out of her seat and on to the floor so that I could reassess her breathing. I would estimate that the time of arrest to start of resuscitation was less than a minute.

"I had to perform CPR for about two to three minutes before the paramedic from St John Ambulance arrived and applied the theatre’s defibrillator. Mrs Mansfield was shocked once and needed a further two minutes of CPR before she regained a pulse. Her breathing was still very slow so I used the ventilation bag and mask to get her breathing again. The ambulance crew arrived within seven to eight minutes and by that time she was awake but disorientated. I stayed with her while the ambulance continued to assess and monitor her condition."

As the ambulance crew took Judith to hospital the audience stood up and gave Kristian an ovation.

When asked about his actions on the night, 24-year-old Kristian was incredibly modest. He said: "This is just part of what we do as nurses. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time. The media interest has been incredible, with everyone supporting me at the university and at Weston Hospital, where I work part-time on the bank as a health-care assistant. I have been in touch with Mrs Mansfield's family since the show and I'm really pleased to say that she is doing well."

Judith's daughter, Beverley Bishop, said: “The entire family - my dad, sister, three grandchildren and sons-in-law - are eternally grateful to Kristian and everyone else who helped, including St John Ambulance, who were on hand, and the ambulance crew. It could have been a very different story.”

Sarah Green, Head of Nursing and Midwifery at UWE Bristol, said: “The entire adult nursing team at UWE are thrilled to learn about Kristian's quick thinking and actions. We work hard to ensure that students get plenty of opportunities to practise the many scenarios they will eventually encounter in the working world and CPR is one of those. We are so proud of Kristian. His actions show his ability for effective decision-making and leadership, which are both vital for future nurses.”