A scaffolding boss who helped save a colleague’s life with CPR is urging more people in the industry to learn first aid, as St John Ambulance puts greater emphasis on practical workplace training.
Ascent Access Scaffolding managing director Nathan Huband stepped in when long-serving colleague Raj Soni suffered a cardiac arrest at the company’s former yard in Netherton, near Dudley, on 23 March 2026.
In an account released by St John Ambulance, Huband said the skills he had learned on a workplace first aid course helped him stay calm while colleagues called for an ambulance.
Soni, 52, had been preparing to drive a truck when he collapsed at the Saltwells Road yard. Huband, who has worked with him for more than 20 years, began CPR on the instructions of the emergency call operator after realising he was no longer breathing.
Huband said he gave chest compressions for around six or seven minutes before the ambulance arrived, then continued while paramedics prepared their equipment.
Paramedics used a defibrillator and Soni was taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham. According to the charity’s account, he spent more than a week in hospital and is continuing his recovery at home in Willenhall.
Huband, 51, had completed a two-day refresher course at St John Ambulance’s Dudley base in February.
“I managed to remain calm, and from somewhere, at the back of my brain, the training came flooding back,” he said.
“I can’t express how important these first aid courses are. I never thought this moment would come but when I needed to act, I didn’t panic and the training kicked in.”
Colleague returns to say thank you
Soni, a father of eight, recently visited the company’s yard in Lye, Stourbridge, to thank Huband. He remains off work while recovering.
“If it wasn’t for him, I may not have made it. What he did took great courage and just shows how vital first aid is,” Soni said.
He added that his son Harvey, who works alongside him as a labourer, and other members of the team were now interested in taking first aid training.
Hands-on learning
St John Ambulance says its updated workplace courses focus on practical exercises, realistic scenarios and skills developed progressively throughout the training.
Huband believes that approach will appeal to construction workers and help them retain what they have learned.
“I know a more practical approach is something our lads would relate to. It would help them digest and retain information better so they would know what to do and be ready to step up should the need arise,” he said.
Lisa Sharman, head of education and commercial training at St John Ambulance, said the aim was to help learners remember critical skills and feel confident enough to use them in an emergency.
Details of the charity’s First Aid at Work courses are available on its website.
