"I can't thank them enough" - Leeds heart attack survivor urges people to call 999 if you need it

Chris Hope, aged 67, who had a quadruple heart bypass 12 years ago, had been gardening at home on Friday April 3 and came back inside feeling unwell. He had tea, a shower and went to bed but woke at 2am the next morning sweating and feeling, he says, "like someone was standing on my chest".

His wife Anne called an ambulance and thanks to paramedics, the ambulance service and doctors and nurses at Leeds General Infirmary he is on the road to recovery after having a blood clot removed from an artery and two stents fitted.

Mr Hope, a former miner at Ledstone Colliery at Kippax before working at Tetley's Brewery, says despite the pressures on the medical services in the city at the moment - he was given fantastic treatment.

He said: "When I woke up, I thought someone was standing on my chest. I shouted to Anne 'you had better get somebody because I don't feel good at all'. Two paramedics and a fast response came, tested me in the kitchen and said 'you are having a heart attack'. They took me straight to LGI, there was a doctor waiting for me, they took me into a room and it went from there.

"Everybody from the girl on the phone, to the paramedics, ward nurses and doctors, were absolutely fantastic. I couldn't have any visitors but they were really great with me, made me comfortable and took my mind off it and I can't thank them enough."

Mr Hope is well on the road to recovery and urged people to keep appointments, keep contact with GPs and to call for emergency help if you need it.

It comes after Stephen Powis, the national medical director at NHS England, reiterated that people should still use NHS emergency services if they are unwell or have had an accident.

He said: "The worry is that those who genuinely need help are staying at home, instead of seeking it. But when you’re in cardiac arrest, suffering a stroke or appendicitis, it will not pass and urgent medical attention is necessary."