'Lucky to be in the right place' - heart hospital heroes save colleague after taxi heart attack
A long-serving switchboard supervisor at Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital (LHCH) is sharing her own poignant story this World Heart Day (29 September), after switching roles from coordinating care to receiving it when colleagues fought to save her life following a heart attack at work one year ago.
What started as a normal working day for Pat Ward, 70 years, from Knotty Ash, quickly became a life-threatening emergency.
Pat, who has dedicated almost five decades of service to LHCH in various roles, from hygiene assistant to her current position leading the switchboard, was travelling the short distance from home to work by taxi, when she began to feel unwell.
The first sign was pain in her jaw, but the symptoms rapidly worsened.
Pat recalled: “I arrived on switchboard and told my colleague Debbie that I felt unwell. By now I had jaw and chest pain which had gradually worsened, and it started to feel like my chest was caving in.
“I remember saying to Debbie, ‘I think I’m having a heart attack’, and the rest doesn’t feel real now. It was like a bad dream.”
In a remarkable turn of events, the switchboard team responsible for coordinating emergency responses across the hospital suddenly found themselves at the centre of one.
Recognising the seriousness of Pat's condition, her close friend and colleague Debbie immediately issued a Medical Emergency Team (MET) call, triggering an urgent response from specialists across the hospital. 
Pat pictured with friend and colleague Debbie who made the emergency call for help
Among the first clinicians to arrive was Elcy Varughese, Advanced Nurse Practitioner in Cardiology.
Elcy said: “I knew when I saw Pat that she was having a myocardial infarction (heart attack) and we took her straight to the Cath Lab where she was met by the specialist team.
“The medical team assessed Pat and within minutes they were performing an emergency primary percutaneous coronary intervention procedure (PPCI).”
A PPCI is the gold-standard emergency treatment for the most serious type of heart attack where a coronary artery is completely blocked. It rapidly unblocks a coronary artery to restore blood flow and to minimise heart muscle damage. This has been shown to significantly improve survival rates, as well as to reduce complications.
Thanks to the swift actions of the emergency team, including Dr Jonathan Hasleton, Consultant Cardiologist and Dr Hasan Ahmad, Specialist Registrar, Pat’s procedure was a success, and she has made a full recovery.
Dr Hasleton said: “Pat came to us at the point where minutes genuinely matter, and the reason she did so well is that the people around her recognised what was happening and acted straight away.
“Debbie on switchboard, the emergency team, the Cath Lab staff; every part of that chain worked.
"It has been a real pleasure to see her recovered and back at work.
"The message I would want people to take from Pat's story is not to wait. If you have chest pain, or pain in the jaw, neck or arms, particularly with breathlessness, nausea or sweating, call 999.
“People very often talk themselves out of it, and that delay is what does the damage."
Speaking about her care, Pat paid tribute to all the colleagues who cared for her throughout her treatment and recovery.
“At one point they had to restrict visiting on the ward because I had so many colleagues checking in to make sure I was ok – which was so lovely,” she said.
“The care was just fantastic – I was treated like a queen.
“The cardiac rehabilitation programme was brilliant and helped my recovery. It encouraged me to make small changes to become more active, move more and go on walks.”
“I’ve always said to family and friends if I became ill, I would want to be treated at Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital. Lucky for me I was in the right place at the right time.”
Ahead of World Heart Day, LHCH is encouraging people to be aware of the symptoms of a heart attack and to seek urgent medical help if they experience warning signs such as chest pain, discomfort in the jaw, neck or arms, shortness of breath, nausea or sudden sweating.
Pat's story serves as a powerful reminder that acting quickly can save lives and highlights the vital role specialist cardiac teams play in delivering life-saving care when every minute counts.
Pat is pictured with some of the friends and colleagues that supported her throughout her patient journey
Further Information
- World Heart Day takes place annually on 29 September and aims to raise awareness of cardiovascular disease and promote heart-healthy lifestyles around the world.
- Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital provides a 24/7 consultant delivered service for urgent and emergency PCI.
- Patients are triaged by the ambulance paramedics and can be taken directly to the Cath Lab at LHCH for a PPCI. There is also a rapid transfer system for patients presenting to their local hospital. - Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital | Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI)