The Resuscitation Council UK have reported that almost 200 people a day will suffer a cardiac arrest out of hospital. When someone has a cardiac arrest this means that they are not breathing normally and that their heart has stopped beating. At this point the person will need CPR (Cardiopulmonary resuscitation), which is a lifesaving technique using chest compressions to pump the heart and continue the flow of oxygen around the body, keeping the brain alive. Resuscitation Council UK say, ‘‘with no treatment, the person will die, usually within a few minutes. Early CPR and defibrillation give them their best chance of survival.’’
CPR is taught on all first aid courses as standard and with many adults learning first aid through their place of work as a compulsory requirement by the HSE (Health and Safety Executive), children should be taught first aid at school too. This means that they will learn essential first aid skills all the way from primary school, up to their place of work, creating a new culture for first aid and a generation of children growing up with these lifesaving skills.
Some children are already learning first aid through their own choice and are already saving lives, like ‘Louis Edwards’, who took first aid lessons and remembered exactly what to do when his 3 year old brother started choking while they were watching TV in his bedroom. Louis’s full story can be read here.
From September 2020 all UK primary schools will be required to teach first aid as a part of their curriculum. Resus Rangers offers the UKs first training package that teachers can deliver themselves. Request a Full Product Demo Pack now.