ST JOHN NT
NEWSROOM

16-month-old Patrick McLean has made a healthy recovery after a near drowning incident two weeks ago.

On Sunday, 6 September around 5pm St John NT emergency medical dispatcher trainee answered a Triple Zero (000) call in response to a 16-month-old drowning. Patrick was unconscious and not breathing at the time of the call. St John NT paramedics and NT Police arrived on scene and managed Patrick until the CareFlight Helicopter arrived.

Together they stabilised, intubated, and prepared the 16-month-old for transport. CareFlight crew, mum, and baby Patrick flew by helicopter to Royal Darwin Hospital where the patient was admitted to ICU.

Patrick has since fully recovered and was discharged from hospital on Thursday, 17 September.

“Accidents such as this can happen in the blink of an eye,” St John NT Director of Ambulance Services Andrew Thomas said.

“This great collaboration between St John NT, CareFlight, and NT Police allowed Patrick to receive urgent medical attention and to be transported to the hospital as quickly as possible.”

“This frightening accident serves as an important reminder regarding pool safety, especially with young children. It is also important that every Territorian has an up-to-date first aid certificate so that they can react and respond to unpredictable accidents,” Mr. Thomas said.

In the past week, there have been two other near drownings in the Territory involving children. These children were both resuscitated by people on scene before an ambulance arrived with advice given over the phone by emergency medical dispatchers.

As the weather heats up, it is important to be careful near water, watch over small children and know what to do in an emergency.

St John NT offers accredited and non-accredited first aid courses across the Territory. Refer to the training section of our website for further information.