'Save a life' coaching for Bath rugby fans

Bath Rugby fans will have the chance tomorrow (Sat 13 October) to learn some life-saving skills during the Toulouse game at the Rec.

Before and after the game and at pitch-side at half time, the Resuscitation Team from the Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust will be running hands-on demonstrations in basic CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation).

People of all ages are invited to have a go at giving life support using one of ten mannequins, and to be taught the techniques that could restart a heart in an emergency.

Dawn Fairclough, RUH Resuscitation and Simulations Services manager said: "We're really looking forward to meeting rugby fans and teaching simple CPR skills so that, if needed, they could do something amazing and be a real lifesaver. Every second counts when someone has a cardiac arrest, and if a bystander immediately performs CPR it can double the patient's chances of survival."

The event is part of the international Restart a Heart campaign that's running next week (Oct 15).

During the week the Resuscitation Team will be coaching non-clinical staff at the RNHRD site and at the RUH. They are also going out into the community to St John's School in Frome and Heywood Prep in Corsham to show pupils that they're never too young to learn life-saving skills.

Across the UK, there are over 30,000 cardiac arrests outside of hospital every year, but the survival rate is less than 1 in 10. This year's Restart a Heart campaign aims to train more than 200,000 people in life-saving CPR.

For more information about Restart a Heart Day, visit https://www.resus.org.uk/

ENDS

Notes to Editor

• The Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust provides acute treatment and care for a catchment population of around 500,000 people in Bath, and the surrounding towns and villages in North East Somerset and Western Wiltshire. The hospital provides healthcare to the population served by four Clinical Commissioning Groups: Bath & North East Somerset CCG, Wiltshire CCG, Somerset CCG and South Gloucestershire CCG.
• The Trust has 759 beds and a comprehensive range of acute services including medicine and surgery, services for women and children, accident and emergency services, and diagnostic and clinical support services.
• In 2015 The Royal United Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust was acquired the Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases (RNHRD) NHS Foundation Trust. The RNHRD treats patients from across the country offering services in rheumatology, chronic pain, chronic fatigue syndrome/ME, cancer related fatigue and fatigue linked to other long term conditions such as multiple sclerosis.
• The RUH is changing - we have an exciting programme of redevelopment underway transforming our site and further improving the services we provide. The Trust is now working towards building a purpose built RNHRD and Therapies Centre and a new Dyson Cancer Centre. For more details visit: www.ruh.nhs.uk/fit4future
• For more information about the Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust visit: www.ruh.nhs.uk

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