South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SCAS) has trained 16,229 students across 76 schools in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire and Oxfordshire as part of this year’s Restart a Heart Day.
The achievement, which exceeded the Trust’s original target of training more than 13,000 students, saw SCAS staff and volunteer community first responders deliver lifesaving training to young people across the South Central region on Friday 16 October.
The sessions taught students how to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and how to use a defibrillator – vital skills that could help save the life of someone experiencing an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.
Every year in the UK, nearly 30,000 people suffer an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest where treatment is attempted, yet fewer than one in ten survive. For every minute that passes without CPR or a shock from a defibrillator, a person’s chance of survival decreases by around 10%.
David Hamer, paramedic and operations manager at SCAS, said:
“Training more than 16,000 students across 76 schools is a fantastic achievement, and I want to thank every member of SCAS staff and all our volunteer community first responders who gave up their time to make it possible.
“Learning CPR and understanding how to use a defibrillator can make a real difference when someone suffers a cardiac arrest. Acting quickly, starting CPR and using a defibrillator as soon as one is available can help save a life.
“We want young people to leave these sessions knowing that they don’t need to be a medical professional to make a difference in an emergency. The skills and confidence they have gained could one day help them save the life of a family member, friend or even a complete stranger.”
Restart a Heart Day is part of a worldwide initiative to raise awareness of cardiac arrest and increase the number of people equipped with the skills and confidence to perform CPR and use a defibrillator.