Earlier this year, Transit Officers Ben Brooker and Lawrence Hoxey were partnered on the Fremantle Line. After completing their training together four years ago, Ben and Lawrence know each other pretty well and each will tell you they have faith in the other’s abilities to do the job.
“I used to be a diesel fitter in a mine in the Argyle region and Lawrence was a mechanic in the U.S. navy, so we come from pretty different backgrounds and hadn’t done anything like this before 2009,” said Ben.
“But the job fits in well with our lifestyle and lets us spend quality time with our kids.”
While patrolling Subiaco Station during the afternoon peak on May 24, Ben received a call advising that a young man was having epileptic seizures on a Fremantle-bound train about to pull into Subiaco. Being peak-hour, several hundred passengers were on board, travelling home from work.
When it arrived, Ben and Lawrence boarded the train to find the young man had been placed into the recovery position by two ladies who had come to his aid, one a registered nurse.
“The man was known to us from a previous similar medical incident, so we knew a bit about his medical condition and history’” said Lawrence.
“I spoke with emergency services while Ben stayed with the passenger and made sure he was comfortable and remained calm.”
“We made the call to leave him on the train floor rather than move him to the platform for two reasons – in case he had another seizure, and because the carpeted floor of the train was more comfortable than the platform and a lot warmer, as it was a pretty cool night,” said Ben.
Being a packed peak-hour train, Ben and Lawrence were mindful of the impact the delay was having on passengers and, after consulting with the ambulance service on the phone, made the decision to continue the 20-minute trip to Fremantle to meet medical assistance.
“We decided the train would get the man closer to Fremantle Hospital quicker than any ambulance could on the road,” said Lawrence.
Over the next 20 minutes, Lawrence continued to talk to the ambulance service to update them on the passenger’s condition. When the train arrived at Fremantle, PTA staff and the ambulance were waiting and ready to assist.
“Our job is all about making judgement calls,” said Ben.
“We have stringent ongoing training that teaches us how to deal with these situations. Any of the other Transit Officers would have done the same thing.”