St John Scotland hosted a free CPR training session on Saturday as part of Save a Life for Scotland in the Harry Younger Hall, just off the Royal Mile.
This is an initiative with a bold aim. The charity wants to train 500,000 people in Scotland was they call ‘by-stander CPR skills’ by 2020. Every year, 3,500 people in Scotland will suffer a cardiac arrest, but only around 1 in 20 will survive. Would you know what to do?
Save a Life for Scotland came about following a new strategy for out of hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA), which hopes to double survival rates across the country within five years. Reaching this level of performance would mean around 300 more lives being saved every year compared to recent years. It is anticipated that this improvement programme could save up to 1,000 additional lives by 2020.
St John Scotland provided the free, drop-in training session for people of all ages, teaching 70 people lifesaving skills in CPR. The event was coordinated by a team of volunteers from St John Scotland, as well as partners of the Save a Life for Scotland initiative, Forth Valley Police, the 105th Regiment Royal Artillery unit and Lead Resuscitation Officer of NHS Forth Valley, David Williams.
David Williams, Lead Resuscitation Officer, NHS Forth Valley said: “Don’t be scared to save somebody’s life, learn CPR and be prepared if the worst should happen. Providing CPR will give somebody who has collapsed the best chance of survival until an ambulance arrives.”
A spokesperson from St John Scotland said: “We are a proud partner of the Save a Life for Scotland project, and we’re passionate about demonstrating to people that learning how to administer CPR is quick and easy. We hope to host more events like this in the future across the country.”
Miles Briggs MSP was also being trained in CPR at the weekend.
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