P&O staff ‘zero help’ for critically ill passenger

Passengers were forced to act when a man stopped breathing and was left on a jetty by P&O cruise staff, according to a woman who stepped in to help save the man’s life.

Kate Hollman told Neil Mitchell she and partner Dave were on a day trip to the Isle of Pines, New Caledonia, about to return to the ship, when she noticed something was seriously wrong.

“I noticed a man lying down, he was convulsing, his eyes were rolling back into his head and obviously wasn’t responsive,” she said.

“There was blood on the side of his hand, they thought he’d been bitten by something.”

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Kate said when the man stopped breathing, Dave gave the man mouth-to-mouth and was able to revive him.

But when they managed to get the man back to the ship, Kate said the P&O staff were “zero help”.

“A representative said P&O’s protocol is to rely solely on the island’s medical services and that no P&O staff are trained in First Aid,” she said.

“It was very traumatic.”

It’s believed the man was bitten by a stone fish.

P&O has responded to the claims, disputing Kate’s version of events.

“It is incorrect and unfair to suggest that our security personnel at the jetty did other than behave in a professional and timely manner,” Spokesperson David Jones said.

You can read P&O’s full statement here.