{"id":18155,"date":"2019-05-31T15:14:04","date_gmt":"2019-05-31T14:14:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=18155"},"modified":"2020-11-12T12:56:27","modified_gmt":"2020-11-12T12:56:27","slug":"bus-driver-vijay-save-passengers-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=18155","title":{"rendered":"Courage under pressure"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

Driving a bus in one of the busiest cities in the world is definitely no walk in the park \u00e2\u20ac\u201c drivers must be on constant alert as they contend with traffic, passengers, pedestrians, hot and cold weather, and so much more.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Still, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not very often that bus drivers, or any of us, will run into a serious life or death emergency on the job. But for Unite member and London bus driver Vijaypal ‘Vijay’ Singh, who\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been driving buses in the city for 16 years, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just what happened.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt was just an ordinary day; I was driving the 205 bus to Bow Church on one of my usual routes,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he told UNITElive.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A passenger approached Vijay, notifying him that another passenger had taken ill. Following safety procedures, he stopped the bus and pulled over; he put it in neutral and went to have a look.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe passenger was not looking good at all \u00e2\u20ac\u201c he was slumped over on his seat,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Vijay explained. He knew he had to take decisive action \u00e2\u20ac\u201c after calling in a \u00e2\u20ac\u0098code red\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 emergency to the controller, he evacuated the bus and diverted passengers to the next bus.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Now alone tending to the unconscious passenger, Vijay soon received a phone call from paramedics who were on their way.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThey told me to put my fingers under his nose to check his breathing. A normal person breathes in every second or two, but when I checked, the man was taking a shallow breath every nine or ten seconds. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s when I knew it was serious.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Paramedics then asked Vijay, who had never before received first aid training, to lie the man on his back as they instructed him on how carry out CPR.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe man was probably about 12 stone, so I had to ask someone walking by to help move him.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Vijay knew the next few minutes would be critical, so he forced himself to stay calm, focus and follow the paramedics\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 instructions. After pumping his chest and breathing into\u00c2\u00a0the man\u00c2\u00a0as directed, he still would not respond.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

But after a few more pumps,\u00c2\u00a0suddenly, the man gasped.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bHis eyes were rolling in the back of his head and he was shivering like a fish out of water bowl,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Vijay recounted. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bBut still, he was breathing. He was trying to speak but words wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t come out. I shut the bus doors and rubbed him to keep him warm and stop his shivering.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Vijay continued working under instruction to keep the passenger stable \u00e2\u20ac\u201c paramedics arrived shortly after. As they took the man away on a stretcher, he and the passenger whose life he helped save briefly locked eyes.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bHe couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t speak but he gave me that look that said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0098Thank you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Afterwards, Vijay radioed into the controller and told him what happened.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bHe asked if I was okay; if I needed to take a break. But I told him no \u00e2\u20ac\u201c I was okay to continue working straight away. It was definitely a very stressful situation but I felt good within myself that I had just helped someone like that; it gave me the motivation to continue with my day.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Thanks to Vijay\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s quick thinking and calm courage under pressure, the passenger was kept stable until emergency services arrived \u00e2\u20ac\u201c the man eventually made a full recovery.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Vijaypal<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

For Vijay\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s efforts, he won April\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s UK Bus Star of the Month award (pictured above). While grateful for the award, Vijay said the simple knowledge that he stepped in and helped a fellow human in need was reward enough for him.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It was also an example of why health and safety is so important \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and why, Vijay believes, first aid should be made mandatory for all bus drivers.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bI was lucky that I was able to keep calm and follow instructions, but I would have been much more confident had I been trained in CPR and basic first aid,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he explained.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bAll bus drivers I think should be prepared for all eventualities on the job \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and that includes emergencies,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Vijay noted. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bHealth and safety for passengers and drivers alike should be paramount.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Unite shop steward and health and safety rep Louise Cocker, who also works in the Bow Bus Garage with Vijay, agreed.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bI think that basic first aid training would be useful to bus drivers as it would help us to help our colleagues and passengers,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bAs in Vijay\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s case, it could make the difference to someone during those vital minutes before an ambulance arrives.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Louise said that one avenue that could potentially be explored is including first aid training as part of bus drivers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 annual Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC) courses, which are a legal requirement.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As Vijay\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s colleague, Louise said she wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t surprised by his actions on the day he helped save the passenger\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s life.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bVijay is credit to our union — since I became shop steward in 2015 Vijay has always been a very supportive and helpful member of our LE\/311 Branch,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she told UNITElive. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bFor example Vijay helped me organise a Diwali event for Bow garage staff last Diwali. Vijay’s help ensured that it was a very successful and enjoyable event.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bVijay is a popular and well thought of colleague at Bow bus garage,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she added. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bVijay is the sort of person who is always willing to help.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Find out more about what Unite is doing to improve health and safety in the workplace here.\u00c2\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Driving a bus in one of the busiest cities in the world is definitely no walk in the park \u00e2\u20ac\u201c drivers must be on constant alert as they contend with traffic, passengers, pedestrians, hot and cold weather, and so much more.   Still, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not very often that bus drivers, or any of us, will […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2677,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[],"wps_subtitle":"Unite hails bus driver and union member Vijay Singh for saving passenger's life","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18155"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18155"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18155\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25242,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18155\/revisions\/25242"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2677"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18155"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18155"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}