On Wednesday 18 October, two days after Resuscitation Council UK’s Restart a Heart Day, Bournemouth University (BU) students and lecturers, hosted an interactive session outside Marks & Spencer, Castlepoint Shopping Centre to teach the public the basics of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in five minutes.
Students and lecturer (Philip McConnell, photographed on the right) from Bournemouth UniversityApproximately 30,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests happen every year in the UK. However, sadly less than one in ten people survive these cardiac arrests. Performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) can more than double the chances of survival in some cases. Restart a Heart Day brings together people from all over the world to increase public awareness of cardiac arrests and increase the number of people trained in life-saving CPR.
The public had the opportunity to practice CPR on adult and paediatric manikins and use training defibrillators. Anna, a member of the public who participated in the CPR teaching session, said: “To learn a bit about CPR is really important, especially with a newborn to make sure you know in the event of an emergency how to save his life.”
Staff from Enhanced Care Services also attended the event. They talked to first-year Paramedic Science students about equipment on the ambulance and the role of paramedics at the scene of an emergency. Student, Luca, said: “I love Paramedic Science because first responders are incredibly important and to be one for me would be a life goal.” The public was invited into the open ambulance doors for a chat with the friendly Enhanced Care Services staff.
Enhanced Care Services and studentsLecturer in Operating Department Practice, Philip McConnell, said: “It’s great working at Bournemouth University, sending out our new students into largely NHS jobs in three years’ time when they qualify.”
To find out more, including quick, free online resources to learn CPR please visit the Resuscitation Council UK or British Heart Foundation webpages.
