Harvester Kitchen: Aoibh's a helping hand for mum

23 November 2009 -- A Benfleet youngster has been praised by the ambulance service for her quick-thinking in coming to the aid of a loved one.

Photo shows (l-r) Zoltan, Sandra, Aoibh, Vanessa and Liz, shortly after Friday's presentation.

Aoibh Pozsar, 8, was presented with a chief ambulance officer's certificate on Friday (November 20) to commend her for using the 999 service responsibly - and she also had the chance to meet those who helped her.

On Father's Day in June, Aoibh was at her Hadleigh home with mum Liz when the potentially serious accident happened. Liz was in the kitchen when a very sharp knife fell and cut her right leg.

Liz said: "My husband Zoltan and son Paddy were out and so I called to Aoibh to ring the ambulance - she got to it straight away."

Sandra Brown was taking 999 calls at the emergency operations centre in Chelmsford, when Aoibh's call came through.

She said: "Aoibh was great and kept very calm, and followed my instructions very well. I went through what to do for her mum and remained on the line with her until the crew arrived."

In about 10 minutes, crew Vanessa Palmer and Serena De Lastic were on scene to treat Liz. They gave initial treatment, and an emergency care practitioner made a follow-up visit to give further care to Liz's wound which meant she didn't need taking to hospital.

It was Aoibh's actions which prompted Sandra to recommend she be formally recognised, and the certificate presentation was made during assembly at the Holy Family School in Kents Hill Road, where Aoibh is a Year 4 pupil.

As well as making the presentation, Sandra also played the 999 call to the assembly so pupils could hear what an emergency call sounded like - in case they should have to make a similar call in the future.

Paramedic Vanessa was also there to meet Aoibh, Liz and Zoltan to see how they were getting on.

Sandra added: "The importance of this is to give recognition, and also teach children that calling 999 is not something to be feared - though of course we stressed it was only something to do in a genuine emergency."

Liz said the family was very proud of Aoibh: "She was very excited to be given a certificate, and bounded out of bed today! She was so amazing - I told her she was getting it because she kept very calm and dealt with it well. She acts very well in an emergency!"