Off-duty sister praised for helping nurse trapped in car following crash

Sally Barley assessed and comforted Caroline Fox until fire crews arrived

An off-duty sister has been praised for helping a fellow nurse who was trapped in her vehicle following a car crash.

Emergency department (ED) sister Sally Barley was on her way home from a night shift at Scunthorpe General Hospital last month when she was one of the first on the scene following a two-vehicle crash near Appleby, North Lincolnshire.

She was able to carry out initial assessments on the driver – practice nurse Caroline Fox – and communicate with paramedics by phone.

Bringing comfort

The ED sister then helped paramedics to break a window of the car, enabling them to open the door from the inside so that Ms Barley could comfort Ms Fox until fire crews arrived to cut her free.

Ms Fox was trapped for 90 minutes and sustained five fractured ribs, cracked vertebrae and three dislocated toes.

‘Absolutely brilliant’

‘I cannot praise Sally enough,’ Ms Fox said. ‘She was absolutely brilliant and really calming.’

Ms Fox’s husband Ron, who arrived at the scene after the crash, added: ‘It is difficult to express how much those few kind words and gestures meant at a time when we were both in shock.

‘We want to express our gratitude and thanks for her unwavering support during a most difficult time.’

Following up

After her next shift at Scunthorpe General Hospital, part of Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust, Ms Barley visited Ms Fox, who had been taken to the same hospital for treatment, to check on her progress.

The ED sister said: ‘You have to work with what you’ve got.

'At work, you have everything there you need. I was in the right place at the right time. I am just glad I could help and I’m thankful she is okay.’

In other news

• Charge nurse’s workload left emergency department ‘poorly managed’
• Why every workplace needs a ‘Department Of Kindness’