A healthcare worker's life was saved by her colleagues when she had a stroke - on a stroke rehabilitation ward.

Caroline Swan was supposed to be on a day off when she was called in to work at Glasgow's Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.

She now credits that rota change for putting her in the company of her colleague Sharon Woods who saved her life after she began to display signs of something being very wrong.

Ms Woods, a charge nurse on Ward 65, noticed something was not quite right with her workmate.

READ MORE: Inside Glasgow's dedicated NHS sexual assault support service

"Caroline was sitting in a chair and just staring. When I asked her if she was OK she couldn’t speak," she said.

"There and then I knew."

Knowing that time is of the essence for a stroke, Ms Woods called ahead to ensure the emergency stroke team was ready, placed Ms Swan on a trolley and ran with her to A&E.

This quick thinking ensured the healthcare support worker was given the treatment she needed within a crucial 45 minute window.

Due to the rapid intervention, within two hours Ms Swan's speech had begun to return and she is now home in East Renfrewshire with her husband Alan.

Soon she plans to return to work and help others with the same rehabilitation journey.

Ms Swan had initially began to realise there was something awry when she tried to take her glove off but couldn't make her body follow her brain's instructions.

She said: "I was coming out of a room and couldn’t get my glove off. I just kept staring at it and thinking ‘something’s wrong’.

“I can vaguely remember being put on to a trolley, going through corridors, and then going for a scan. I remember then thinking something was really wrong.

“But it honestly feels like my stars were aligned that day. I wasn’t even meant to be working, then Sharon found me really quickly and got me the help I needed.

"Sharon saved my life – it’s as simple as that."

While her recovery has been swift and steady, Ms Swan has lost her sense of taste and also needs to wear a monitor.

READ MORE: Glasgow's council is seeking a horse operator for Pollok Park

However, she added: "Because of Sharon and the rest of the team who took care of me, I recovered really well. I’m feeling well and hoping to be back at work soon.

“I’ll never be able to thank them enough for what they did for me.”

Health services across the country are under considerable pressure but seeing that care at first hand was something Caroline will always remember.

“The care I received was just amazing,” she said. “I thought it would be weird, given that I worked with everyone and I know them so well, but they were brilliant.

“They just treated me like any other patient and looked after me really well.

"Everyone was so nice, and I felt so safe. I can’t thank them enough.”

While Ms Woods was glad to be in the right place at the right time, but she didn’t see anything unusual in the care everybody gave her.

“You don’t expect something like this to happen to a colleague, so to begin with I was quite shocked. But we take care of people – we’re nurses after all, so that’s what we all did.

“I’m just so glad that everything turned out so well for Caroline.”

Rebecca Fulton, Lead Nurse for the Older People and Stroke Services, said: "I’m so proud of the team.

"Despite the fact the patient in this case was one of our staff, everything just kicked in and people knew exactly what to do.

"In fact, being a close-knit team was probably the critical factor here, and why Caroline has made such a positive recovery.

"I’m delighted that in this case everything worked out so well, and that Caroline will be back with us soon."

Ms Fulton stressed that time is of the essence when someone is suspected of having a stroke, and encouraged people to familiarise themselves with the signs of stroke so they have a better idea of when to act.

She said: “It is well documented that the quicker a patient can get to hospital and receive treatment, the better the chance of a positive outcome.

“Because of that time imperative, learning the signs of stroke, and being able to act quickly in the event of one, really can be a life-saver.”

Caroline, who has two grown-up daughters Caroline and Sharon, is well aware of how lucky she was that day – and hopes others will learn the signs of stroke so they can act fast too.

“I was so glad that I was at work – because of that I was seen quickly, and that was the key thing here.

“Please, if you do anything today, get to know the signs of stroke so you can help others, like Sharon helped me."

The FAST acronym - Face, Arms, Speech, Time - is a test to quickly identify if someone is having a stroke.

• Face weakness: Can the person smile?

• Arm weakness: Can the person raise both arms?

• Speech problems: Can the person speak clearly and understand what you say?

• Time to call 999: if you see any of these signs.