A National University Hospital (NUH) nurse has been awarded by the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) for her heroics on two occasions while off duty.

She attended to two strangers from the same residence who were suffering from cardiac arrest on two separate occasions.

During the first instance, she was heavily pregnant.

Her public spiritedness was highlighted by the SCDF in a Facebook post on July 23.

First incident

The nurse, Claudia Tan Yanhua, 31, was getting ready for work in September 2019, when she received an alert on the myResponder app for a cardiac arrest case in a unit just two floors below her own home.

Tan, who was then in the third trimester of her pregnancy, “dashed over to render aid”.

When she arrived at the unit, she saw a man, 60, lying motionless on the floor.

She immediately performed CPR on him after assessing that he showed no signs of breathing or pulse.

SCDF resources arrived shortly after and rendered further medical assistance before conveying him to a hospital.

"Thankfully, the man survived,” SCDF added.

Second incident

The second incident occurred three months later.

This time, Tan was at home during her post-pregnancy confinement.

She had received another myResponder alert for a cardiac arrest case in the same unit and went over to the residence “without hesitation”, said the SCDF.

In this case, she saw a woman, aged 60 also, lying motionless, who displayed no signs of breathing or pulse.

Tan immediately performed CPR.

When SCDF resources arrived, she helped to administer intravenous lines on the patient.

Unfortunately, the patient in this case did not survive.

SCDF said: ”For her quick-thinking and selfless acts, (Tan) received SCDF’s Community Lifesaver Award (CLA) and Community First Responder Award (CFRA).”

First responder life-saving

Tan told TNP: "I signed up as a community first responder as I thought I could put my skills as an emergency nurse to good use."

She added: "My hope in sharing this experience is to encourage more people to learn essential lifesaving skills and to sign up on the myResponder app."

The myResponder mobile app by the SCDF was launched in 2015.

It works by notifying members of the public, also known as Community First Responders, of cardiac arrest and fire cases within 400 metres of their location.

As of March last year, it has more than 40,000 registered respondents with close to 21,000 responses to cases since its launch.

Top photo via SCDF & BrightSparks