How parking wardens could save your life

Published on Friday 15 May 2009 10:00

RECEIVING a kiss from a parking attendant may be a grim prospect for many motorists across the city.

But under a new initiative, the famously loathed enforcers could be the difference between life and death for drivers who fall ill while out on the capital's streets.

Parking attendants are learning how to treat people in emergency situations with basic first aid such as giving the kiss of life.

Parking superviser Claire Tervit said: "It's all about being able to save someone's life if you have to."

Ms Tervit – a qualified first aider – has spearheaded the project, which is understood to be a first in Scotland and the UK, encouraging colleagues to learn cardio-pulmonary resuscitation and other basic techniques.

Her determination for parking attendants to know more about life saving was prompted by two recent situations in the city when her staff found motorists in critical conditions.

One man was found by an attendant slumped at the wheel of his car in Fountainbridge last November after suffering a brain haemorrhage, and an elderly woman was discovered on Picardy Place earlier this year, having collapsed. Both later died.

Ms Tervit: "I already volunteer for St John Ambulance, and following these incidents I began talking with a paramedic, Andrew Kerr, from the Scottish Ambulance Service, about what training we could do. He suggested the Heart Start initiative, with the British Heart Foundation, and we took it from there."

About 60 parking attendants from a possible 140 have volunteered for the initiative, which involves a two-hour class, taken during shift time, run by qualified instructors. The course is backed by NSL – formerly NCP Services – which employs the parking attendants, and is funded by the British Heart Foundation.

Every 15 minutes someone in Scotland has a heart attack, about half of which are fatal. The greatest danger is the first hour after an attack, when calling an ambulance is vital. If someone on the scene knows emergency life support, more lives can be saved.

Transport convener Phil Wheeler said: "A parking attendant could save your life."