Free life-saving skills session in Earls Barton for Restart A Heart 2021

St John Ambulance volunteers in Earls Barton are once again giving free demonstrations of life-saving skills as part of the annual Restart a Heart campaign in October.

On Restart a Heart Day - Saturday, October 16 - St John’s highly-trained volunteers will give people opportunities to attend and learn essential first aid skills.

The free session includes practical information on how to understand the difference between a cardiac arrest and a heart attack, how to give cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and how to deliver shocks to the heart with a defibrillator.

Dr Lynn Thomas, medical director at St John Ambulance, said: “We didn’t have to ask our volunteers twice about supporting this year’s Restart a Heart campaign. They are keen, especially after the last 18 months, to get back out there, face-to-face or online, and upskill their friends, families and neighbours in these vital first aid techniques.

“A cardiac arrest can happen any time and without warning so ensuring that people have that knowledge when confronted with a heart-related emergency is vital and increases the chances of saving a life. Coupled with this, we are concerned that as many members of the public as possible regain the confidence to deliver bystander CPR to casualties when they are most in need of support.”

Bystander CPR rates fell in some areas of the UK during the Covid-19 pandemic. The aim of this year’s campaign is to resume training, both online and offline, restore confidence in performing CPR and using a defibrillator, and reach people who may have found it challenging to access training resources, by making resources available in a range of languages.

Led by the Resuscitation Council UK, the partners in Restart a Heart include St John, The British Heart Foundation, British Red Cross, the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives, NHS England and Improvement, Save a Life for Scotland, Save a Life Cymru, and Northern Ireland Ambulance Service

The participating organisations want to ensure that everyone has a chance to learn CPR - and that those having a sudden cardiac arrest have their best chance of survival.

People in Northamptonshire can attend the two-hour session at the St John Ambulance site in Elizabeth Way, Earls Barton. on October 16, from 10am to 12pm.

For more information about this Restart a Heart event, or to book a place, contact [email protected].