A Northumberland man who had a cardiac arrest at Byker Asda in May has been reunited with the ambulance crew who came to his aid. Roger Crosby, then 56, collapsed while buying a sandwich at the supermarket on May 8. The Bellingham man had experienced few symptoms before the emergency and had even had an ECG test the night before, which showed no concerns.
Chain of events that saved a life
Roger has now met those who looked after him and joined with ambulance service figures to highlight the fortunate series of events that meant he could be saved. These included that someone in the store – a medical student – was able to provide cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) moments after he collapsed, that there was a defibrillator at the store which could be used before an ambulance arrived, and that the store was only a few minutes away from the Freeman Hospital's specialist heart unit.
Roger said: "I had been under a lot of stress and I was exhausted, but I had never had high blood pressure. I think my cholesterol had crept up. I had an ECG the night before and it was clear. I went to work, went to Asda for my lunch and then woke up two days later in the Freeman having had a stent fitted."
Four-minute response
Roger said the care he received from the NHS has been "incredible", including in hospital and, crucially, before that – when it took just four minutes for an ambulance crew to get to him. North East Ambulance Service health adviser Ebony Tweddle took the 999 call at 12.06pm – by 12.10pm, a paramedic was on the scene.
He added that recovery has been better than he could have imagined. Roger said: "The whole wraparound care from the NHS has been incredible. My recovery has been amazing. I play in a rock and roll band, so I’m really pleased to be back doing the things I love."
Roger continued: "It can happen to anybody. I had virtually no symptoms and I was just going about my normal day. If people know what to do in an emergency, it can make such a difference."
Crew and dispatchers recognised
At NEAS, dispatcher officers Erin Denyer and Jennifer Alexander helped coordinate the response, which saw an ambulance crew sent from Howdon featuring ambulance support practitioner Claire Shearer and paramedic Iain Shaw. Specialist critical care paramedic Thomas Mortillaro arrived shortly afterwards. With the support of clinical team leader Dustin Norris and police officers at the scene, Roger's circulation was restored. By 1.28pm he had arrived at the Freeman and was set to undergo an operation to insert a stent.
Paramedic Iain Shaw said: "It was a really serious situation when we arrived, so to have the opportunity to see Roger again now, standing on his own two feet and looking so well, is fantastic. You see people on some of the worst days of their lives, and you don’t always get to find out what happens to them afterwards. Being able to meet Roger again and hear about everything he has gone on to do since that day really brings home why we do this job. It’s brilliant to see him back on his feet, talking about his family, his music and getting back to doing the things he enjoys. It’s a reminder of just how important every part of that response can be."
Ms Tweddle added: "Taking a call like this is very different to any other 999 call. You know that the person on the other end of the phone is in a life-threatening situation and every second matters. Talking someone through CPR and helping them find and use a defibrillator while you know an ambulance crew is on its way can be incredibly intense. You’re trying to keep the caller calm and focused while giving them the instructions they need to help keep someone alive. You never know what the outcome will be once that call ends, so to now see Roger doing so well and hear about his recovery is really special. Knowing that the instructions given over the phone helped play a part in getting him to this point is something I’m incredibly proud of."
Mr Mortillaro added that seeing Roger so well now was a "brilliant outcome". He said: "Roger’s story is a really good example of how things can go right when somebody suffers a cardiac arrest and they receive the right treatment at the right time. He had people around him who recognised what was happening and started CPR, there was a defibrillator available, our crews were able to get to him quickly and provide advanced treatment, and he was able to get to hospital for the specialist care he needed. That whole chain made a difference."
Wider context and awareness
In 2025/26, NEAS answered more than 1.475m emergency 999 and NHS 111 calls and responded to more than 40,000 "category 1" incidents. These – such as Roger's cardiac arrest – are the most serious, and the service has a UK-leading response time, making it to such events in an average time of six minutes and 17 seconds.
The reunion comes just days before October 16 is "Restart a Heart Day", which aims to raise awareness of cardiac arrest and encourage people to learn CPR and how to use a defibrillator. This comes after Roger's sons Daniel and James both completed the Great North Run this year to raise awareness of the issue and the work done by the British Heart Foundation.
