An off-duty nurse and passerby are being praised for springing into action and coming to the aid of a woman in an emergency situation in Royton.

At approximately 2.30pm on Tuesday in Market Square, shoppers in the area said a woman was having a medical episode and was 'laying on the ground'.

It is believed the woman was in cardiac arrest and had fallen 'unconscious' while travelling in a taxi.

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While her condition currently remains unknown, the community is now praising the heroic efforts of a nurse and a man who worked to administer life-saving treatment while waiting for the ambulance.

Kate Burgess, who works as an anaesthetic and recovery nurse, was walking her dog in the town when she came upon the scene. 

While Ms Burgess gave the patient chest compressions, an unknown man was also reportedly "running around" to find a defibrillator. 

Describing the incident as "extremely scary and challenging", the nurse said panic had hit when no one around seemed to know where the nearest defib was.

Fortunately, a defib arrived and she worked hard to save the patient's life for approximately 30 minutes, after which she did regain consciousness but was still "extremely poorly" when the ambulance arrived.

Ms Burgess added: "I'm trained in advanced life support, but not being able to locate a defibrillator was scary.

"Thank you to the man who ran around everywhere trying to find one - it was used and needed."

Residents in the close-knit community have since been praising the pair, writing on social media that it's "good to know there are people like you around" and describing Ms Burgess as "one of life's earth angels".

A spokesperson for the North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) confirmed it was called to the scene after receiving 999 calls at 2.10pm.

The NWAS said the woman received treatment at the scene before being taken to hospital.

The incident has also raised awareness and prompted a discussion about Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) in Royton.

One Royton woman, Patricia Highley, has been campaigning over the last 12 months to set up several in the area.

The campaign, which is supported by the Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome charity (SADS), comes after her son suffered a cardiac arrest "out of the blue" when on a motorcycling holiday in Spain. 

The 56-year-old's life was saved by a friend who administered CPR and used a defibrillator to restart his heart. 

While Ms Highley said he was "one of the lucky ones" to survive the incident, the 84-year-old has been working hard to fundraise for at least four more new defibs in the town. 

She explained: "Every school has one but they can't be used for the community.

"At the present time, there are five AEDs in Royton - the Halfway House on Rochdale Road, Bethesda Church, Tandle View Court, Downey House and Our Lady's Church.

"Others are few and far between and are inside so not available 24/7."

The team now have their eyes set on setting one up in Thornham, on the outside wall of St James' Church, another in Royton precinct and a further two in Tandle Hill Park and Alexandra Park.

At the time of writing, they have raised £1,434 towards the project.

Donations can also be made to the defibrillator project by searching 'Defibrillators save lives (Royton) on JustGiving.

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