Chantry Place team thanked for saving life of woman who has cardiac arrest

Maggie Challis, aged 78 from King’s Lynn, was shopping at Chantry Place when she suffered a cardiac arrest. Maggie, who was in Boots at the time, collapsed and Boots staff immediately called the Chantry Place team for medical support and put Maggie in the recovery position.

Matt Batley, Chantry Place security officer, was first on the scene and quickly began CPR and called security to bring a defibrillator. Matt said: “When I arrived Maggie was on her back and unresponsive, and didn’t appear to be breathing with no pulse. I straight away started CPR before the defibrillator arrived and then I began using that to restart Maggie’s heart. The paramedics arrived a short while later and took her to hospital.”

Maggie spent 42 days in hospital in critical care, part of it in a coma, but Maggie is doing well and is recovering at home.

Maggie recently came to Chantry Place to say thank you to the security team and the Boots team for saving her life. Maggie said: “I am incredibly grateful to have been in the right place at the right time at Chantry Place, surrounded by people who knew what to do and save my life. Doctors said it is amazing how I survived and have no long-lasting damage or side effects, and that’s thanks to the quick response of the team at Chantry Place and the early CPR. As soon as I was able to, I wanted to come and meet everyone and thank them, but how do you repay someone who saved your life? It is priceless. I am incredibly grateful to Matt and the team for what they did for me, and it was so emotional seeing them all.”

While incidents like Maggie’s are luckily rare at the Centre, Matt and the security team at Chantry Place are all first aid trained and have regular refresher training. The defibrillator is checked every month for maintenance and pads are replaced after use.

Maggie added: “I have such appreciation for security officers – you think they are there to provide a safe public space but they do so much more than just that. They have to deal with difficult encounters and they never know what is going to happen at any given time and day, and luckily the Chantry Place security team are all first aid trained. It is thanks to the team being so quick on the scene to help me that I’m still here – they have given me more days to spend with my family and friends and I am so lucky and grateful for that. I wouldn’t be here without the people who helped me that day.”

Matt said: “It was incredible to meet Maggie properly when she came to see us. She had a cup of tea with us and we had a chat about what happened, and I showed her our defib. I am so pleased that Maggie is doing so well and it really is one of the most rewarding and amazing things to know you saved someone’s life.”