HE is the hero porter at a Hampshire hospital who used CPR to save his colleague’s life.

Now, Daniel Spacagna has been shortlisted for a national award for his life-saving actions.

Daniel’s job is to move patients and vital equipment around Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester, but he took control of the situation when fellow porter John Bauldry suffered a cardiac arrest in the team’s staff room, instructing another of his colleagues to put in an emergency call before performing CPR on his friend.

His quick thinking kept John alive during the time it took for the emergency medical team to arrive on the scene. After a defibrillator was used to restart his heart, John made a full recovery and is now back at work.

Alan Kemp, portering and security lead at Winchester hospital, nominated Daniel for the Life Saver Award in the national Unsung Hero Awards 2018.

The awards recognise the efforts of non-clinical healthcare staff and volunteers. Daniel has been shortlisted and will find out whether he has won during a ceremony in Manchester at the end of February.

The 35-year-old, from Eastleigh, said: “It feels fantastic to have been shortlisted for this award and I’d like to say a big thank you to Alan Kemp for nominating me. It would be amazing to win, but it’s an honour just to have been shortlisted and I’m looking forward to the ceremony.

“When I think about what I was able to do for John, it really makes me proud. We come to work to make a difference and care for patients and I really did make a difference that day.

“I’ve done quite a few first aid courses, but fortunately I’d been on one through work about four weeks before the incident, so it was really fresh in my mind. It just shows how important doing first aid courses can be. You never know when you are going to need to use the skills you learn on them.”

Speaking about the incident, he added: “The adrenaline just kicked in. John is a friend as well as a colleague and I was determined to keep going because I didn’t want it ending the other way. I just did what I needed to do and the doctors said I had kept up a good rhythm.”

John, 60, spent eight days in hospital before being allowed to return to his home in Hamble and he returned to work just two months after his near-death experience.