MELKSHAM schoolchildren learned how to save a life last month as part of the international ‘Restart a Heart’ day.
50 pupils at Bowerhill Primary School joined over 100,000 others across the UK and Australia as they learned CPR as part of an attempt to set a world record for the most children to be taught in one day.
Duty manager from Christie Miller Sports Centre, Simeon Holmes, taught pupils the fundamentals of how to help restart the heart of someone who has suffered a cardiac arrest. The initiative took place as part of the European Restart a Heart Day and was part of a world record attempt supported by The British Heart Foundation, St John Ambulance, and The British Red Cross along with all regional ambulance services. The aim was to train more than 100,000 young people how to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on that day.
Christie Miller manager Des Regan said, “We’d like to thank all the staff and pupils at the schools involved. The children were all enthusiastic and loved getting involved; they asked some very interesting and sometimes amusing questions!”
Currently in the UK, less than one in ten people (8.6%) survive a cardiac arrest. If we achieved the same survival rates (25%) as found in parts of Norway where CPR is demonstrated in schools, an additional 100 lives could be saved each week – the equivalent of approximately 5,000 every year.
