A pregnant student nurse has been praised for her calm response after rushing to the aid of accident victims following a crash near the A9.
Shannon Murray was on her way to a gender scan for her baby when she stopped to help casualties in the two-vehicle accident.
A GP who arrived shortly afterwards at the scene south of Newtonmore said Shannon was “amazing” in the way she dealt with the situation.
Dr Julia Ward was so impressed she used social media to later track down Shannon to thank her and to check how she was feeling following the traumatic experience.
‘You need to go help’
She also intends on writing to the student’s tutor to say what a great job she did.
“She is fabulous and she is going to make an amazing nurse.”
Four people were taken to hospital following the accident on Monday at the Raliabeag – Etteridge junction. The injured included an elderly woman.
Shannon, 23, was travelling with her partner Kieren and four-year-old son Frazer to Perth for a gender scan for the baby, due in December, when they spotted the accident.
“A lot of cars were slowly passing the crash scene. But I assessed the situation quickly and my partner said: ‘’I’ll pull over, you need to go help”.
“I had a second to say yes or no and realised there wasn’t anyone on the scene yet to help the casualties.
“So we pulled over quickly and I ran over panicking if I was able to do anything or make it worse.
“In lectures, we speak about car crashes, but when you’re actually there in real life everything goes 100 mph.”
The University of the Highlands and Islands student said she found a woman in shock asking her to help her mother who was stuck in the car.
“I did the best I could. I kept the casualty awake, making sure I kept getting a response.”
She said police and fire officers asked her if she was okay: “My brain was like ‘yes’ but my heart was like ‘no’.”
Shannon, who also works as a support worker with Parklands Care Homes, said Dr Ward then arrived and took over looking after the elderly woman.
Shannon returned to help the woman’s shocked daughter, giving her some of her son’s sweets to provide her with sugar.
“The doctor did everything she needed to. She was amazing. We hugged at the end and I never thought I’d see her again.”
Social media used to track down nurse
When she got home and logged into social media she found a post from Dr Ward being shared by thousands of people.
“The doctor messaged me and since then I’ve messaged her a lot.
“She offered me support knowing how traumatic this could be as I’m still learning.
“Even for her it’s never nice, but she was amazing and I can only hope when I’m qualified I can be as calm and kind as her.
“I’ve now made a new friend who I will most definitely try to meet up with again.
“All I can say is I hope, if it ever came to it, someone would do the same for my friends and my family.
“The emergency services were amazing too they were just so kind and calm.”
Dr Ward was returning home to Dundee from a family holiday in Coylumbridge when she stopped at the accident.
“Shannon was already there and doing a really good job, talking to the patient and the daughter of the patient.
“When I found out she is still a student nurse I was totally blown away by how calm she was.
“The fact she is pregnant makes it even more amazing.”
I hope, if it ever came to it, someone would do the same for my friends and my family.”
Shannon Murray
Dr Ward, who qualified just 18 months ago, said she and Shannon concentrated on the elderly woman as she was the most seriously injured and the most vulnerable.
The GP used her lifesaving training to assess the woman’s airways, breathing and circulation while keeping the others calm.
“Shannon stayed around and was really helpful and was very reassuring to the patient’s daughter and others around.”
The pair waited at the scene until the arrival of paramedics and a team from the BASICS Scotland charity, a voluntary emergency service.
“A lot of it was just using basic skills. We are used to being calm in emergencies and getting on with it.
“We do that day in, day out and managing people around so they don’t panic.
“I could not live with myself if I did not stop. If you see people that need help you just help them.
“But it was a real team effort of complete strangers doing their best to help other people.”
She is now going to contact Shannon’s tutor to pass on her praise for the student.
“I think when people do an amazing job it’s important to tell them.
I think when people do an amazing job it’s important to tell them.”
Dr Julia Ward
“Everyone in the health service gets criticised, so telling them they have done well can give them encouragement to keep going through the bad times.
“It’s a tough job even without criticism, so you need to be told when you’ve done a good job.
“I think if a fellow medical professional says you’ve done a good job it goes a long way, it’s a big tick.
“When people can do that for each other, to big each other up, it’s so important.”
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