The British Heart Foundation (BHF), Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) and North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) have launched a project to improve survival rates for out of hospital cardiac arrests across the region.
As part of the BHF’s Nation of Lifesavers campaign, the charity has provided every fire station in Greater Manchester with CPR training equipment. This means 41 fire stations are equipped to facilitate CPR sessions in communities across the Greater Manchester region with this life saving skill.
This initiative builds on the recent launch of a partnership between GMFRS and NWAS, which sees firefighters responding to cardiac arrests.
As part of European Restart a Heart Day, fire service crews and paramedics will visit a number of secondary schools across Greater Manchester to facilitate CPR sessions for pupils, using the BHF’s innovative Call Push Rescue training equipment.
All GMFRS fire stations are community resources which are available for members of the public to use and firefighters regularly hold CPR training sessions for local groups.
Last year, NWAS said they responded to 5,486 incidents in Greater Manchester where the patient had suffered a cardiac arrest. This highlights the need to increase skills and confidence across the region, to give every person the best chance of survival.
A surveyof adults in the North West by the BHF reveals that just 44% know CPR.
BHF is launching ‘Mission CPR’, a campaign that will see around 35,000 schoolchildren across the UK learn CPR on the day, and at least 35 schools across Greater Manchester will be taking part. The campaign is part of the BHF’s Nation of Lifesavers strategy which aims to equip all young people and adults with the CPR skills to save a life. Since its launch one year ago, 95 schools in Greater Manchester have been awarded Call Push Rescue CPR training kits.
Simon Gillespie, Chief Executive at the British Heart Foundation, said: “Survival rates for cardiac arrest are critically low in the North West and far too many lives are lost needlessly because not enough people have the skills and confidence to carry out life saving CPR.
“Sadly, you are most likely to witness a cardiac arrest at home which is why it’s so important that more people are trained and are able to act in that situation. Performing CPR in those vital immediate minutes after a cardiac arrest can, in some cases, double a person’s chance of survival.
Jenny Grey, 20, helped to save her neighbour’s life when he suffered a cardiac arrest at his home in the middle of the night. The second year medical student at Manchester University said: “Without having learnt CPR and basic life support I am certain that my neighbour’s outcome would have been far worse than it was. I am so thankful for having known what to do in this situation, adrenaline truly kicked in and allowed me to focus on helping to keep my neighbour alive, whilst remaining calm and encouraging others there to help out with the CPR too. My training had given me the confidence to use my skills in practice, instead of feeling helpless in this kind of situation. You never expect to be in such a difficult situation, but it can happen so unexpectedly, and that is why I can’t stress enough how vital it is for everyone to get themselves trained in basic life support and CPR. It could really be the difference between life or death, whether it is for somebody you know, or a bystander in the street.”
