Quick-thinking restaurant boss saves customer's life
He leapt over a toilet door and sprang into action
Jordan Harries, general manager of The Welsh House in Carmarthen
The actions of a quick-thinking restaurant manager and his staff helped save the life of a diner who had a heart attack.
Jordan Harries, general manager of The Welsh House in Carmarthen, was alerted by a staff member that a cubicle in the ladies' toilets was blocked. He went inside to inspect further and discovered that a woman was inside unconscious.
An ambulance was called and in the meantime the 28-year-old carried out CPR and later used a defibrillator on the customer until paramedics arrived to take her to hospital for further treatment.
Reliving the day Mr Harries said: "A member of staff came to me and said there was something behind a cubicle in the women's toilets but they weren't able to get in to have a look.
"I came in and ended up jumping over the top and found there was a woman who was unconscious.
"I asked for a member of staff to go and call and ambulance and also to get a relative who was dining with them to ask them some questions.
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"I used to work in a hospital during Covid so I've had some experience. I asked some general questions as to whether the lady had any allergies to try and work out what the issue could be.
"At this point the lady was still breathing but unresponsive.
"The relative told me there was no allergies or anything and during this time the woman stopped breathing. I commenced with CPR and used a defibrillator, which had been located in St Catherine's Walk.
"Within the next few minutes paramedics arrived and worked on the lady. They were probably in there for 45 minutes to an hour and then took her to hospital."
Mr Harries, 28, of Tenby, had worked at Folly Farm up until the coronavirus pandemic.
He did not want to sit at home or to get furloughed and so got a job in healthcare at Withybush Hospital. He got placed onto the Covid ACDU ward, working to help people who were on ventilators and really unwell, and so he was equipped with skills on what to do in the troubling situation.
Thankfully he and his colleagues at the restaurant received good news about the customer's condition some weeks later after the incident on May 5.
Mr Harries added: "We didn't hear what had happened for a few weeks.
"We had an NHS support representative come in to say that she had heard there had been an incident and to offer me and my team some support and then a friend of the lady who had had the incident actually wrote a review on Google thanking the manager and the team for saving her friend's life so we knew the lady was alive.
"She had had a heart attack but had survived.
"She has actually been back into the restaurant since for food and to say thank you and drop me off a card.
"We've taken some good learning out of this and spoken to a local company in Carmarthen who have offered to give defib training for free to the team. It was a great team effort and to learn she was okay it was a real morale-booster."
Having learned what happened opera singer and television personality Wynne Evans visited The Welsh House to personally thank Mr Harries for his courage.
As a token of gratitude he presented Mr Harries and his team with hospitality tickets to an upcoming Wales match against Belgium.
Jordan Harries with Wynne Evans
'It was an absolute honour to meet Jordan and recognise what he did,' said Wynne.
'In moments of crisis true character shines through and Jordan showed nothing but courage and heart.
"But what really struck me is that this wasn't a one-off – Jordan is constantly giving back.
"Whether he's mentoring young people, supporting grassroots sport, helping local businesses thrive through workshops, or leading community events he's someone who genuinely puts others first.
"He's a real local hero and a perfect example of the kind of community spirit that makes Carmarthen so special.'
Operations manager at The Welsh House Alex Budge added: 'Jordan is more than just a manager – he's a role model and a pillar of this community.
'His leadership is defined by integrity, care, and selflessness.
"Everyone enjoys working with Jordan. His enthusiasm shines through in everything he does, and it's infectious.
"We're immensely proud of what he's done not just in this moment of bravery but every day he shows up with purpose and heart.'
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