Ballinteer nurse is nominated for a National Bravery Award

Gabija Gataveckaite

A BALLINTEER nurse has been nominated by the Lord Mayor of Dublin for a National Bravery Award after she performed CPR on a bus driver who suffered a heart attack.

Cllr Nial Ring has put forward nurse Aoife McGivney, who works in the Mater Hospital, for the prestigious award.

The annual award recognises citizens “from all walks of life and all sections of society who have saved a human life involving personal risk to them”, according to their website.

Lord Mayor Ring said in a statement to Southside People: “Aoife certainly fits that criteria.

"When we look at Aoife's actions where, seeing the driver was ill, she ran to the front of the bus and took the driver's feet off the bus pedals and stopped the bus. We cannot but see this as an act of bravery and courage
“The fact that she then moved the driver on to the footpath and carried out CPR before emergency services arrived is equally astounding," he said.

The quick-thinking nurse rushed to the driver’s side after she realised he was unconscious behind the wheel. She then asked fellow passengers to get him onto flat ground and call an ambulance, while she performed CPR on the driver.

The Dublin Bus driver was then rushed to hospital in an ambulance.

"I hope to meet Aoife soon and drop in to see the driver too," the Lord Mayor added.

Nominations for the awards can be submitted from members of the public, as well as bodies such as An Garda Síochána, Defence forces and local authorities.

Last week, the brave nurse launched a programme to teach 100,000 people CPR in cases of emergency. 
The programme, Hands for Life, will offer free training for the next two years and will take place in local communities.

The course will take less than an hour to complete and is supported by the Irish Heart Foundation. 

Speaking at the launch of Hands for Life,  the brave nurse described that eventful day.

“The day started out like any other for me, getting on the bus to work in the morning,” she remembered.

“But before long, I found myself on the footpath on O’Connell Street performing CPR on the bus driver. Thankfully, he survived and nobody was hurt. I was lucky enough to know what to do in the situation and my training kicked in instinctively.”

Aoife emphasised how CPR training can save someone’s life.

“I know first-hand how important it is to know CPR and that it can be the difference between life and death,” she added. “I hope that others will be inspired by my story to learn CPR through the Irish Heart Foundation’s Hands for Life free community CPR training courses, supported by Abbott and ESB Networks."

Hands for Life training courses are free and open to all adults aged 18 and over. Communities, groups and clubs who have 30 or more people interested in a free Hands for Life training course can contact the Irish Heart Foundation directly on 01 668 5001 or [email protected] to arrange a training course in their locality.

The training course takes just under one hour to complete and attendees will learn how to recognise a cardiac arrest, how to perform compressions, including hands-on practice on a CPR training manikin and how to use an AED (Automated External Defibrillator).

Tim Collins, CEO of the Irish Heart Foundation, said: “Every day in Ireland 13 people die from a cardiac arrest. Around 70 per cent of these happen at home in front of a loved one. If there is someone nearby who knows CPR and can start performing compressions quickly, you can double or even triple a person’s chances of survival.

“At the Irish Heart Foundation, we are on a mission to save lives. We want to create a nation of lifesavers by training as many people as possible in the lifesaving skill of CPR.

"That’s why we’ve developed the Hands for Life programme and now thanks to the support of Abbott and ESB Networks, we will train 100,000 people in the next two years which will in turn improve people’s chances of surviving a cardiac arrest in Ireland.”
Paul Hennessy, Customer Experience Director, Abbott, added: “At Abbott, we work to keep hearts healthy with our life-changing technologies here in Ireland and around the world.”