Medical emergency & poor response from Woolworths staff

<p>On Sunday 3rd April my partner and I were standing at the Checkout of Woolworths Eastgate. The queue was very long and there were 3-4 trolleys in front of us. An elderly man standing near the till area suddenly collapsed. We heard a loud thud as he hit his head on the floor, and saw him lying flat on his back. Everyone seemed to stand around him in a daze and it appeared that no Woolworths staff immediately responded to the scene. My partner jumped in to help the old man. She tried to turn him on his side in case he was fitting, but the old man had hit his head quite hard and was bleeding. My partner managed to help him sit up and got blood all over her hands in the process. Woolworths staff were still standing around and no-one from Woolworths offered to bring her a sanitizer to clean her hands. Someone eventually arrived with a wheelchair and the old man was helped into the wheelchair. Someone else from Woolworths put a basket upside down to cover the blood spill. My comments and concerns are as follows:</p> <p>1. Woolworths Eastgate do not appear to have any paramedics or trained first aid responders in the store. If they were there, we did not see them the entire time this drama unfolded.</p> <p>2. My partner got blood all over her hands and risked possible infection to help the old man. No-one from Woolworths stepped in to help the old man sit up, or, help my partner get her hands cleaned. We had to rely on another customer in the queue who offered her own personal sanitiser to my partner, to clean her hands.</p> <p>3. By the time I left the store I saw the old man had been moved to an area close to the tills, and I could see him still sitting in the wheelchair with people standing around him. Someone from Woolworths appeared to be making a phone call, but there was still no first aid or paramedic response taking place.</p> <p>In conclusion it was very distressing to witness this incident and myself and several other customers were very concerned for the old man's wellbeing. I am concerned that Woolworths staff are not adequately trained to handle emergencies of this nature.</p>