Contributed by Mr Georgios Floros, Night Manager at Millennium & Copthorne Hotels at Chelsea Football Club.
As Night Manager, Georgios’ day (or night, rather) usually consists of ensuring the smooth operation of the hotel. Among other duties, Georgios and his colleagues handle guests’ requests and feedback through the night, performing floor walks to ensure all is fine in the corridors, and prepare handover reports for the day team, such as the next day’s arrivals and departures, and any incidents that might have occurred during the night.
One night however, Georgios had the most unusual experience, when an expectant couple checked into the hotel in the wee hours of the morning…
It seemed like a regular night, when we had a check-in by an expectant couple at around 3.30am in the morning of 30 April. The first-time parents had come from the hospital nearby, where they were told to return in 24 hours.
Everything went on as normal, until 5.00am when I received a call to the reception from the couple’s room, where they had requested for an ambulance. I was told the mother was experiencing contractions, so I called 999 and the operator asked to be put through to the couple’s room so that they could communicate with them directly while the ambulance was on its way.
I called the room, but there was no answer. Hence, I decided to go up to the room to check on them.
I took the lift to the third floor and when the doors opened, the couple was in the corridor with the father screaming for help, as the baby was crowning right there and then!
I was shocked, but realised that, in that moment, I was their only support while we waited for the paramedics. There wasn’t even enough time to call our Security Team for assistance!
I immediately fetched towels and pillows while staying on the phone with the 999 operator and followed her instructions to ensure a safe labour for mother and child.
It was a very stressful situation – I had to make split-second decisions, listen to instructions from the operator and calm the couple down. The mother gave birth standing, while leaning on me! It happened all very quickly and within half an hour, we had a baby girl born in the corridor of the hotel.
The emergency operator was very helpful as she guided us through the whole birthing process. She told us not to cut the umbilical cord, as it is something the paramedics should do. She also asked questions about the baby, such as if it was breathing and crying, and she tried to encourage the parents, telling them that they were doing just fine and assuring them that the ambulance was arriving shortly.
