Today is Restart A Heart day, it's an annual event started by the Yorkshire Ambulance service back in 2014 which has provided free CPR training to over 151,000 youngsters across the county.
Currently in the UK, less than one in ten (8.6%) people survive a cardiac arrest. In Norway, where CPR is taught in schools, that number is 25%.
Today staff from the Yorkshire Ambulance service will be leading the now annual campaign to raise public awareness of CPR, providing training on the core skills and increasing peoples confidence in their ability to deliver the life saving treatment.
Normally teams from the service would visit schools to provide hands on training, Jason Carlyon from the ambulance service says this year they've had to do things a little differently.
Jason says providing the public with the knowledge and confidence to deliver CPR is key to keeping more people alive.
Jon Thordarson, Community Resuscitation Manager for Yorkshire Ambulance Service, said:
“We are concerned that COVID-19 has increased people’s fear of intervening when someone has a cardiac arrest but the risks can be reduced by performing hands-only CPR and not giving rescue breaths. A cloth or towel can also be gently placed over the patient’s mouth and nose; this will not obstruct or block their airway and will not affect their chances of survival.
“Cardiac arrests have not stopped happening during the current pandemic; in fact early data shows that cases have been increasing, particularly in the home. This proves that learning CPR is more important than ever, especially when you consider that you could be saving the life of a loved one.”
Friday is #RestartaHeart Day and we'll be teaching CPR to hundreds of youngsters online. There's still time for your secondary school to get involved! Email us at yas.restartaheart@nhs.net #GetHandsOn
Posted by Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust on Monday, October 12, 2020
Over the last six years on Restart a Heart Day, Yorkshire Ambulance Service has provided free CPR training to more than 151,000 youngsters at 82% of the secondary schools across Yorkshire. Due to COVID-19, the usual face-to-face sessions have been cancelled and all training will be conducted online on Friday 16 October this year.
Supported by the Yorkshire Ambulance Service Charity, the event is delivered and promoted in partnership with the Resuscitation Council (UK), British Heart Foundation (BHF), St John Ambulance and the British Red Cross.
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