Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance is looking for volunteers to get local businesses, schools, clubs and groups to get CPR confident through its new CPR Skills for Life programme.
CPR Skills for Life Volunteers will be given all the tools, training and support required to help inspire the next group of potential lifesavers.
Participants of the programme learn how to assess a patient, call for help, perform effective chest compressions and how to use a defibrillator.
Keith Wilson, the charity’s director of income and engagement, said:
“A cardiac arrest can happen to anyone, anywhere at any time. Whether it’s a loved one in your home or a stranger in a shopping centre, we want to empower people to step up and perform CPR to give that person the best chance of surviving and returning home.
“It’s incredibly exciting to offer our existing and prospective volunteers the opportunity to donate their time spearheading this potentially life-saving programme.”
There are 30,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in the UK each year, with fewer than 1 in 10 people surviving. And for every minute that goes by without a patient receiving CPR or defibrillation, their chance of survival decreases by 10%.
1 in 5 missions carried out by the air ambulance’s highly skilled doctors, dispatchers, pilots and paramedics are to cardiac-related incidents – around 400 in 2023.
Volunteers looking to get involved can register today.
Businesses, schools, community groups and clubs can get CPR confident, including how to use an automated external defibrillator, by signing up to CPR Skills for Life.
