Man reunited with officers and paramedic who saved his life

A man who collapsed from a cardiac arrest in the City of London has been reunited with the police officers and paramedic who saved his life.

On 16 November 2023, Mal Patel had collapsed on Cheapside and was unresponsive when City of London Police constables Neil Geddis and Jack Watson were flagged down by a member of the public and rushed to his assistance.

PC Watson immediately started cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), while PC Geddis made sure members of the public were out of the way and gathered witness information on what had happened. The officers first on the scene requested a defibrillator.

Within just two minutes, the green team from the Tactical Firearms Group, who are trained in advanced medical care, arrived on the scene. They used a defibrillator to stabilise Mr Patel and took over CPR.

The firearms officers managed to regain a pulse and kept him stable until a crew from London Ambulance Service arrived, including Motorcycle Paramedic Paul Soffe, who continued treatment and the ambulance crew took Mr Patel to hospital.

“By the time Mr Patel was in the ambulance, he was still very ill, but was now breathing on his own,” PC Geddis said, who along with PC Watson, went to the hospital and made enquiries to locate his family.

Mr Patel went on to make a full recovery.

It wasn’t until a year later, when Mr Patel approached two firearms officers explaining that he was unable to track down the officers who saved his life, the two realised it was their team who saved him.  

On Friday, Mr Patel reunited with the officers and paramedic who saved his life at Bishopsgate Police Station.

Deputy Commissioner Paul Betts said:

“The exemplary action of all the officers that day is a testament to their first aid training and the advanced medical training of the firearms officers which made the difference.

“I am proud of the work of our teams, from the first response officers to the firearms team, all of them immediately sprang into action to save Mr Patel’s life.

“Our officers and officers throughout the country are doing great things like this everyday and it is important to recognise them for it.

“I’m delighted to hear that Mr Patel made a full recovery and it was an honour to have him visit us.”

PC Watson has been nominated for a Royal Humane Society Bravery Award, for acts of bravery in the saving of human life and also for the restoration of life by resuscitation.

The firearms officers have been nominated for a Commander’s Team Commendation, recognising the performance of a team in a manner that is significantly above what would be expected from normal day to day activity.

Mr Patel, 58, from Northwood, London, told the officers:

“Words can’t do justice to the gratitude that my family and I have for everything you all did for me on that day. Seeing you all and hearing the astonishing skills that you pull together as a team, brought home to us how truly under-appreciated the Force is. In us at least, you have advocates for life.”

Paul Soffe, Paramedic for the Motorcycle Response Unit at London Ambulance Service, said:

“I’m delighted Mr Patel has made such an excellent recovery.

“Mr Patel's survival was made possible thanks to the police officers’ use of a defibrillator and their impressive first aid skills while our paramedics were on the way to the scene. 

“As a result of the officers’ early intervention we were able to stabilise him and convey him to the nearest specialist cardiac centre.

“Every second counts and early CPR and defibrillation can more than double someone’s chances of survival. Both of these can be done by a member of the public before the ambulance service arrives and they’re very simple to learn.”