Doctor on way to work saves man having heart attack at MRT station

A doctor on his way to work at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital saved a heart attack victim, and then took a bus to the accident and emergency (A&E) department where he ended up being the man’s attending physician.

Paramedics who rushed the man to the hospital were not aware Dr Lim Shi Ping was working that day.

The 63-year-old man survived the heart attack and was discharged from hospital five days later.

The incident happened around 7.30am on Aug 18.

The 27-year-old junior doctor told The Straits Times that he had left his car at home to catch the train, from where he lives in Novena, to Yishun because it was a Sunday. At the Yishun MRT station, he noticed a crowd at the bottom of the escalator. A man had collapsed and was gasping for air.

Dr Lim, who has been a doctor for two years, pushed through the crowd and introduced himself as a medical doctor. The man had no pulse by then.

The doctor immediately commenced cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and directed people around him to call for an ambulance.

SMRT station manager Kelvin Leong jumped in and instructed station staff to get the automated external defibrillator (AED). He also took over CPR while Dr Lim prepared the AED.

Dr Lim said he was stressed because it was outside a controlled hospital environment.

“In a hospital, there are medical personnel. Everyone is trained, and they know their roles in the resuscitation,” he said.

“Outside, we have to try to make use of what’s available and get the help of other people,” he added.

Mr Leong kept up the chest compressions before Dr Lim administered the AED. Meanwhile, other station staff ushered the crowd away from the man.

Soon, the man’s heart started beating again.

At about 7.35am, paramedics arrived at the station and took the man to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital.

Dr Lim then hopped on a bus and made it for his 8am shift.

The paramedics were surprised to see him again at the A&E department where he works. He had told them he was a doctor at the hospital, but did not mention he was working that day.

“The paramedics said: ‘I didn’t know you were going to work, we would have given you a ride’,” he said.

Dr Lim attended to the man, who subsequently made a full recovery and was discharged after five days. Dr Lim said he never told the patient that he was the man who helped save his life at the MRT station.

“It would seem like I was trying to get gratitude from somebody, and I felt it was not really in my nature to do so... If I was at work, I wouldn’t go to a patient and say: ‘Hey, I saw you in the A&E and helped you’,” he added. “I feel that with such a skill set or training in the medical profession, this is what someone should do if they ever encounter such a situation.”

Dr Lim, Mr Leong and three other SMRT staff who responded to the incident will each receive a Singapore Civil Defence Force Community Lifesaver Award on Sept 27.

The other SMRT staff are assistant station managers Nur Nazrhatul Filzha Abdul Majid and Selviih Govindarajoo, and senior assistant station manager Noorshaharudin Misnam.

Recalling the incident, Mr Leong, 39, said: “I had no time to think or be kan cheong (nervous). I couldn’t stay blank and risk losing seconds that could have been used to save the person.”

It was his first time handling such a situation in his two years as a station manager.

Dr Lim almost never made it to medical school and was close to giving up on his dream of being a doctor. He said his A-level results were not good enough.

But his parents encouraged him to pursue his degree in Australia. He graduated in 2022.

Dr Lim, who hopes to be a general practitioner in future, said: “It’s a noble profession because you’re able to carry out your work and, at the same time, make a difference and help people.”

About one in three deaths in Singapore is due to heart disease or stroke.

The Singapore Myocardial Infarction Registry showed there were 12,403 heart attack cases in 2021, compared with 8,014 in 2011.

The Singapore Stroke Registry showed the number of stroke episodes had also increased – from 6,143 cases in 2011 to 9,680 cases in 2021.