Top award for three police officers who saved life of woman after she slashed her wrist in front of them

The horrifying incident, in which the officers leapt in action to stem the bleeding and then had to resuscitate the woman after she went into cardiac arrest, happened on the evening of September 14, 2020.

Police went to the woman’s home in Skegness after she had breached a court order. However, when they arrived she refused to let them in and then slashed her wrist.

The three officers, DC David Bettison, PC Clare Heaton from Skegness and another officer who cannot be named, immediately went into action to stop her bleeding to death, and when her heart stopped began administering cardiac pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) until an ambulance arrived 30 minutes later.

The woman was eventually stabilized and taken to hospital where she went on to survive.

Now the three officers have all been awarded Royal Humane Society Resuscitation Certificates for bringing her back from the brink of death.

DC David Bettison, who has been stationed at Skegness for five years including four on response, said he had never been faced with a situation like this before.

"I have performed CPR as part of my duties before this happened, but on that occasion the person didn’t survive," he said. "This incident was more challenging in many respects, and I’m grateful to have been working alongside two excellent colleagues on the night in question.

"The situation was very intense and deteriorated very quickly; when we arrived at the address none of us could have predicted what was about to happen.

"I wasn’t surprised at how we responded, though.

"Lincolnshire Police provides excellent first aid training to its officers, specifically around controlling severe bleeding and CPR.

"If it wasn’t for that level of training things might have turned out differently.

"It’s something I’ll never forget. I’m just glad that the lady in question survived."

However, receiving an award was something they will never forget.

"It was a surprise," said DC Bettison. "After the incident we had no thoughts of receiving praise or awards, we were just doing our jobs, but it’s always nice to have your efforts recognised."

Adding his personal praise for them Andrew Chapman, Secretary of the Society said: “I was a horrific incident and they did a wonderful job, both in stemming the bleeding from her wrist and then in administering CPR after her heart stopped. They richly deserve the awards they are to receive.”

The roots of the Royal Humane Society stretch back more than two centuries. The Queen is its patron and its president is Princess Alexandra. It is the premier national body for honouring bravery in the saving of human life.

It was founded in 1774 by two of the day's eminent medical men, William Hawes and Thomas Cogan. Their primary motive was to promote techniques of resuscitation.

However, as it emerged that numerous people were prepared to put their own lives at risk to save others, the awards scheme evolved, and today a variety of awards are made depending on the bravery involved.

The Society also awards non health care professionals who perform a successful resuscitation. Since it was set up the Society has considered over 87,000 cases and made over 200,000 awards. The Society is a registered charity which receives no public funding and is dependent on voluntary donations.

It was one of a select number of organisations to receive a donation from the Patron’s fund which was set up to acknowledge work done by organisations of which the Queen is the patron, to mark her 90th birthday.