NHS at 75: Bo'ness man's gratitude to the health service workers who saved his life

The then-58-year-old was at his Bo’ness home when he suffered a cardiac arrest and had just enough time to tell his wife Lorna to call 999 before he collapsed. The next thing he remembers is hearing a paramedic shout ‘he’s back’.

“I had bypass surgery at Edinburgh Royal in 2014 and I never really kept too great,” said Scott, now 65. “I have got heart disease, it runs in my family, and all the problems come from that. I wasn’t expecting to have a cardiac arrest but I knew when I felt the vibrating what was happening.

“I know it was really scary for my wife and people who were there but it wasn’t really for me because I was down and didn’t really get the fright.”

Scott, who spent 41 years working for Falkirk District Council as a maintenance joiner before he had to retire, was taken to Forth Valley Royal Hospital, where he was fitted with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator, which sends signals of abnormalities to the hospital and can also perform defibrillation.

It was during his time in hospital that Scott and Lorna, who have three sons Kenneth, Craig and James, were first reunited with one of the paramedics who saved his life. And just last month, eight years after his cardiac arrest, Scott was once again able to shake hands with the pair, called Scott and Irvine, who had arrived at his house that day and restarted his heart.

“It was one of the best days I’ve had for a really long time. I’ve never felt too much away from them because I think about them a lot and I’m always really, really grateful. So it’s like meeting a long lost friend. That’s how much it means. Saying thank you doesn’t seem enough for someone who saved your life, it just means a lot to you.”

Scott, who also had to call an ambulance for his wife in 2014 when she suffered a stroke, said he will always be grateful for the kindness he has been shown while in the care of the NHS.

“The NHS has always been really, really great to me,” he said. “When I had my bypass operation, I was really ill for a while after it. The care I received was exceptional. There was one nurse, who I only know as Bernie, who would come in early for every shift and she would cycle in in the rain just to make sure I was okay. I’ve always wanted to get back in touch with her to thank her because she helped me through a really difficult time.

“Thank you doesn’t seem to be enough for people who cared for you and who saved your life. It seems a bit futile to say just thank you. But I’m sure they understand just how much we mean by those two words.”