The police officer jumped to the aid of a seven-week-old baby.
PC Matthew Hirst was out on patrol when a distressed mother flagged down his police van in Bestwood just before 3.50 pm on Saturday (16 May).
PC Hirst said: “I was just out doing proactive patrols around the lockdown. I was driving down Southglade Road in Bestwood and spotted a lady looking panicky and waving frantically at the police van.
“We stopped and she explained in a panic that there was something wrong with one of her children. We jumped out of the van and she’d got in her arms a seven-week-old baby.
“She gave me the baby and said ‘he’s not breathing’. He was really struggling to breathe, so we took him inside, gave him first aid and called our force control room to make sure an ambulance was on its way.
“I lay him down as we’re taught in our first aid training. I then checked his mouth to make sure there were no blockages. I kept him in that position and monitored how many breaths he was taking per minute until the ambulance arrived.”
Although PC Hirst has dealt with medical incidents before, this was an unusual incident. He said: “I’ve dealt with other first aid scenarios, we quite often act as first responders. But it’s the first time I’ve helped an unwell baby – it’s not a common part of the job.
“The baby was very small – you don’t expect to be doing first aid on a baby that small. You feel really cautious about not hurting them.”
The ambulance service arrived and the baby was taken to Nottingham’s Queen’s Medical Centre to be checked over.
“We’ve heard that the baby is now back at home and is safe and well,” PC Hirst said.
“Everybody will tell you I haven’t shut up about it – it felt great to be able to help. I’ve got kids of my own and as a parent, I‘d hate to be in that situation. It felt brilliant that I was able to help a mother out and that the baby has a life to look to forward to.”
