Hastings cardiac arrest survivor urges public to get trained in CPR

A Hastings woman is urging people to learn CPR after her life was saved by her husband and South East Coast Ambulance crews.

65-year-old Carole Tatar went into cardiac arrest at her home in Battle but survived thanks to her husband’s quick actions and paramedics’ care.

She recently reunited with her lifesavers at SECAmb’s Hastings Make Ready Centre, just two months after the incident.

But with just 10 per cent of people surviving out-of-hospital cardiac arrests, Carole knows just how lucky she is to be alive.

On 20 July 2025, having gone to bed as normal the night before, John woke to find Carole unresponsive. Managing to get Carole on the floor, John started vital CPR and dialled 999.

Emergency Medical Advisor (EMA) Chloe Twiner picked up the call and helped guide John through CPR until help arrived. Paramedic, Jess Earley and Trainee Associate Ambulance Practitioner (TAAP) Daniel Lawrence was among some of the first clinicians that arrived on scene, closely followed by Operational Team Leader (OTL) Trevor Murray who Carole and John reunited with.

The team delivered a life-saving shock with a defibrillator and managed to stabilise Carole before taking her to Conquest Hospital where she spent over a month recovering.

“I can’t thank everyone that helped me that day enough,” Carole said. “It has been wonderful to meet everyone in better circumstances and fill in some of the gaps as to what happened.

“I understand that without John starting CPR, the outcome for me could have been very different and I’ll be forever grateful to him and the ambulance team that I’m still here and get to enjoy many more years. I’d encourage everyone to learn CPR which could save a loved one.”

John added: “Thank you from the bottom of my heart – to the 999-call handler who guided me through giving Carole CPR and keeping me calm in those critical moments, and everyone that attended our home and saved my wife. We will always be grateful for your lifesaving care.”

OTL Trevor said: “It was lovely to see Carole and John in much more positive circumstances. I’ve been at SECAmb 11 years now and this is my first time meeting a survivor and it was fantastic to see how well Carole is doing only two months on.”

Paramedic Jess added: “A testament to John for his quick actions – if it weren’t for him starting CPR so quickly the outcome could have been very different for Carole. I’m really pleased to have met them both again and it was great to hear Carole is recovering well.”  

CPR in the minutes following a cardiac arrest is crucial to give a person the best chance of survival. You can learn CPR in as little as 15 minutes with free, online tools available to access through the British Heart Foundation here.  

For those trained in CPR, there is also the opportunity to sign up to GoodSAM – an app used by ambulance services to alert individuals to nearby cardiac arrests. The app allows 999 call takers to alert first-aid trained individuals within a 500-metre radius to someone in need so they can begin CPR and/or bring a defibrillator to the scene of an arrest, minimising the time a patient spends without receiving CPR.