Last week in Parliament I pledged my support for the British Heart Foundation’s ‘Nation of Lifesavers’ campaign, to increase the number of people trained in life-saving cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and help create a Nation of Lifesavers.
It is an astonishing fact that every year in the UK more than 30,000 people suffer an out of hospital cardiac arrest. It is frightening that less than one in ten people survive.
Many cardiac arrests occur in the home and often in front of family members and loved ones. The survival rate is so low partly because not enough people have the skills and confidence to perform CPR. According to the British Heart Foundation (BHF), a 999 call followed by immediate CPR and early defibrillation are vital if we are to increase the chances of survival.
Via their ‘Nation of Lifesavers’ campaign, the BHF is calling for CPR and public access defibrillator awareness to be taught in all secondary schools. The Foundation believes the initiative could save around 5,000 additional lives a year in the UK, based on survival rates in countries like Norway where CPR training is mandatory in schools. That is why I am supporting their campaign, which aims to train more people in CPR and ensure that every young person leaves school knowing how to save a life.
I was pleased to meet Samantha Hobbs at a BHF CPR training event in the House of Commons. At the age of 14 Samantha helped to save her mum’s life by performing CPR. With her dad, they kept her mum alive until the emergency services arrived and could get her heart beating again with a single electric shock from a defibrillator. Samantha is campaigning to raise awareness amongst others so that more people are trained and more lives can be saved.
I am clearly not alone in offering my support, a recent survey carried out by the BHF showed that 82% of people would be behind this move and since the launch of the campaign in October, more than 5,000 people have signed a petition to make these skills part of the curriculum.
By joining the Nation of Lifesavers, I want to see every child in the UK finish school equipped with the necessary skills to respond in a medical emergency and I would encourage all secondary schools and community groups to order their free Call Push Rescue Training Kit.