Could you restart a heart to save a life?

To mark European Restart a Heart day, the Resuscitation Team from the Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust, (RUH) has been out on the road this week teaching people of all ages how to save a life by resuscitation.

European Restart a Heart Day is a national awareness campaign aiming to educate everyone about this basic but vital first aid technique, with a focus this year on giving young people the skills to save lives. The Resuscitation team at the RUH has been running hands-on CPR demonstrations for school pupils, the public, new parents and staff at the RUH.

Rebecca Garrett, Resuscitation and Clinical Skills Trainer at the RUH said, "If you witness a cardiac arrest, it's crucial to call 999 and start Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) immediately. Every second counts when someone has a cardiac arrest and if a bystander immediately performs CPR, this can improve the patient's chances of survival.

"On Tuesday, we visited Writhlington School, near Radstock, and on Friday, we visited GCSE Health and Social Care students at The Blue School in Wells. The pupils we met were really enthusiastic and keen to learn how they might be able to save a life one day."

On Wednesday the Resuscitation team were were guest speakers at the Trust's Caring for You event. Jill Williams of Saltford attended the event and said, "I have learnt some new techniques in how to save a life, I now know what signs to look for and how to give CPR. It was a well organised event, with good answers to questions about a serious subject."

Rebecca added: "It's been a fantastic week, everyone has shown a lot of interest in how they can be a lifesaver in the event of an emergency. I hope they will share the techniques they've learnt with their family and friends as widespread training in CPR is a really important factor in increasing survival rates. If you want to teach yourself this vital skill, you can jump on the NHS Choices or British Hearth Foundation website for more information and a step by step demonstration."

ENDS

Notes to Editor:

• CPR stands for cardiopulmonary resuscitation. It is an emergency lifesaving procedure that is done when someone's breathing or heartbeat has stopped. This may happen after an electric shock, heart attack, or drowning. Rescue breathing provides oxygen to the person's lungs.
• The Trust has been running Caring for You events since 2011. These give Trust members and the public the opportunity to step behind the scenes and understand more about the work of the hospital and how it supports the health and well-being of the local communities. Each year we ask our members what topics they would be interested in hearing about and the top six topics make it onto the agenda.

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