SINGAPORE: Three Singapore-based emergency doctors helped save an Australian passenger who suffered cardiac arrest mid-flight on an eight-hour Singapore Airlines journey from Singapore to Sydney on 25 March.
About three hours into the flight, Kanwar S. Lather was preparing to rest when he noticed a man in his mid-sixties lose consciousness as his wife called for help,
Mothership reported.
With nearly 20 years of emergency training, Lather responded immediately, later recalling: “This man was dying,” as two fellow doctors, Ian Mathews of National University Hospital and Michael Fung of Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, joined him.
Working together, they performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation, set up an intravenous infusion, administered medication and used an automated external defibrillator, while flight attendants assisted and provided oxygen and equipment described by Lather as “like a mini hospital”.
The team maintained coordinated efforts through verbal and non-verbal communication, with Mathews noting: “We know exactly what needs to be done, and no two people are doing the same thing,” until the man regained a sustained pulse and could breathe independently after about 45 minutes.
Following their recommendation, the aircraft diverted to Adelaide, where the doctors monitored the patient for several hours, managing oxygen and speaking with him and his wife, who said he had a history of heart problems and previous bypass surgery.
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After landing shortly after 6am and handing the passenger to ambulance personnel, the doctors continued to Sydney, later reflecting on the experience as a reminder of the value of emergency care, with Lather saying survival depended on treatment beginning within a minute and Mathews adding it showed “what we do can make a difference”.
