Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service supports Restart a Heart Day with training sessions

Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service teamed up with various partners to help promote Restart a Heart Day.

The annual initiative led by Resuscitation Council UK aimed to increase the number of people surviving out-of-hospital cardiac arrests by helping more people learn CPR.

The fire service has teamed up with Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Magpas Air Ambulance, the East of England Ambulance Service Trust (EEAST), Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA) to promote a month-long campaign to encourage people to learn the life-saving skills.

The campaign kicked off at Cambridge Fire Station, where a group of ten people attended. Two sessions were also held at the Service’s Huntingdon Headquarters where around 20 colleagues, including the chief fire officer, were taken through the basics of CPR.

Station Commander Paul Clarke said: “We are delighted to support this campaign as the skills learnt are so important in assisting survival. The stats are sobering with only a 1 in 10 survival rate for out-of-hospital cardiac arrests.

“By attending these sessions and learning even the most basic CPR skills could be the difference between life and death. Our colleagues that attended were buzzing after the course and the feedback was very positive.

“We’d encourage people to seek out a session if they can and support Restart a Heart Day. Someone’s life could literally be in your hands.”