Restart a Heart Day
18/10/2018
Academy of First Aid turns local pupils into young lifesavers
It’s not everyday that school pupils get the chance to learn a life saving skill, but thanks to the Academy of First Aid, more than 350 students in Lichfield and Walsall were able to take part in CPR training.
On Tuesday October 16, World Restart a Heart Day took place with organisations, businesses and schools all over the world taking part to increase the number of people who know how to administer CPR. Organised by charities and organisations including the British Heart Foundation and the Resuscitation Council, the aim of the day was to teach more than 200,000 people what to do when someone has an out of hospital cardiac arrest.
Boosting the survival rate
At BB Training Academy our Academy of First Aid teaches CPR and other first aid courses to people every day. We are passionate about the health and wellbeing of people in our society and are committed to equipping as many people as possible with CPR training, to help boost the survival rate of those who have a cardiac arrest.
The sad fact of the matter is that with more than 30,000 recorded cases of cardiac arrests outside of hospitals in the UK every year, the current survival rate is less than 1 in 10. That’s why World Restart a Heart Day is so important, we need as many people as possible to know how to perform CPR.
Young lifesavers
Our First Aid Trainers visited the Friary School in Lichfield and St. Peter’s Primary School in Stonnall on World Restart a Heart Day to turn pupils into young lifesavers. Using inflatable training manikins, fifty pupils at a time were taught how to identify when someone is having a cardiac arrest and how to react and take the necessary action to help save a life. 179 pupils at the Friary School and 197 children at St. Peter’s Primary School took part.
Each pupil that participated was taught the correct CPR technique to use and the speed to administer it, all while sat in the shape of a heart. Upon completion of the session, each participate took away a certificate to confirm their new life saving and life changing skill.
We asked George, a year 9 student from the Friary School how he thought the CPR training has impacted him, he said: “I thought the training was really interesting. I think it’s definitely given me the confidence to know how to react and it’s something I’ll remember for the future if I’m ever faced with an emergency. I would definitely recommend it to my friends because if it can increase the number of people that survive a cardiac arrest and save lives, then it’s worth it.”
Emily Turner, also a year 9 pupil at the Friary School said: “I learnt a lot. I think I’d have the confidence now to know how to administer CPR if I was in the situation where someone is having a cardiac arrest. I would recommend all my friends to do the training as it’s not common knowledge when you’re young but it’s great to know.”
Matt Allman, Headteacher at the Friary School, who helped to organise the CPR training for his pupils said: “As a school, we are keen to not only prepare our students for exams but also with all-important life skills. This initiative prepares our students if the worst happens and helps them build confidence that they can step up when challenges crop up in life.”
Do you want to learn CPR?
If World Restart a Heart Day has inspired you to learn CPR, then visit our Academy of First Aid page to find out more about our CPR and first aid courses. The more people who have the knowledge and confidence to react quickly in the event of a cardiac arrest, the more people we can help to recover.
