Birmingham Airport: Off-duty doctor on Ryanair flight to Verona saves woman's life by borrowing Apple Watch

An off-duty doctor on a Ryanair flight from Birmingham Airport to Verona saved the life of an elderly woman using an Apple Watch and his Urdu language skills. The NHS doctor, Rashid Riaz, based in Hereford, was on the flight on 9 January for a skiing holiday.

He told BirminghamLive that the flight was “halfway to Verona” when a “70-year-old woman had shortness of breath”. The 43-year-old said that the woman was “lying on her husband's lap not responding".

He confirmed that the woman had a background of ischemic heart disease and was diabetic - and he had to find a way to monitor her breathing. Dr Riaz borrowed an Apple Watch off a cabin crew member which allowed him to see her oxygen levels.

The woman’s levels were decreasing and the airline crews quickly grabbed an oxygen cylinder and put it on the woman. Dr Riaz told BirminghamLive: “After five to ten minutes the patient started to improve her oxygen saturation levels. The passenger started to respond and said she had neck pain.”

He was able to use his knowledge of Urdu to keep her calm and reassure her husband. The cabin crew informed the Italian ambulance service who were waiting on the runway. When the flight landed the woman went to hospital for further treatment.

Since 1986, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has required airlines to carry an emergency medical kit and has amended its rule over the years. The FAA assembled a minimum checklist of items that cover the key fields of medicine, such as respiratory, cardiovascular and neurological. For example, there are bandages and splints for cuts, aspirin and analgesics for headaches and pain, antihistamine for allergies, dextrose for a deficiency in liquids or carbohydrates, and an AED for sudden cardiac arrest. There are also such basic supplies as syringes, needles, tourniquets, tape, alcohol sponges and scissors.

Most carriers add additional medicines and instruments, a decision that does not need the FAA’s approval. For example, in summer 2022 Delta Air Lines introduced several advanced diagnostic tools, including automated blood pressure cuffs, medical-grade stethoscopes, pulse oximeters and a temporal thermometer.