Chatham teens taught how to perform CPR on Restart a Heart Day

KentOnline / KMTV

Air Ambulance Charity Kent Surrey Sussex has been leading the sessions, as volunteers have been sharing their experiences both being saved and saving lives. Bartholomew Hall reports.

Transcript

00:00These sixth formers at Holcombe Grammar School in Chatham have been given the morning out

00:06of classes, but perhaps to learn one of their biggest lessons, how to save a life.

00:12It's all part of Restart a Heart Day, which aims to raise awareness about cardiac arrests

00:17and teach as many people as possible how to perform CPR and use a defibrillator.

00:22One man who knows all how important learning CPR can be is Graham Berwick.

00:27Back in 2018, Graham's heart stopped whilst playing golf in Sittingbourne.

00:32There was three people that did the CPR, one of them was my brother.

00:36I was very fortunate.

00:37I know that things would have been extremely different if I'd have been in a different

00:42place at a different time.

00:43You never know when you're going to need that skill because a cardiac arrest can happen

00:47any time to any one of us.

00:50Tragically, only one in ten people survive a cardiac arrest in the UK.

00:55It's hoped that with even the most basic training, that number can rise.

00:59So after their morning session, how prepared are these sixth formers for the possibility

01:03of having to restart someone's heart?

01:05I have to say from learning from the man himself over there, we've learned a lot and we should

01:11be able to perform it quite efficiently and effectively.

01:14I feel really confident doing it because obviously now that I've learned how to do it, I think

01:18it's kind of a skill that you won't really forget.

01:20The fact that I'm learning that I'm going to save a life, I feel like this is really

01:24good training worthwhile.

01:25On hand to help with the morning's training was KSS volunteer Chris, who saved his own

01:30dad's life by putting his training into practice.

01:33It's that skill for life as well.

01:34You never know when you might need it, you probably don't ever want to use it and the

01:39chances of you knowing that person rather than a bystander in the street is very, very

01:43high, especially with family members.

01:50This is the room where pupils across the region are being taught how to perform CPR

01:54today, but they don't even need to leave their classrooms to do it.

01:57It's being broadcasted directly to them and of course some of the younger pupils are being

02:01encouraged to bring in their own patients as well.

02:04If you turn it on.

02:06Essentially what we're asking children to do is bring a cuddly toy into school today

02:09and then we've brought ours and we're going to essentially for a 30 minute live stream

02:13session show them how to do CPR and they're going to practice it on their teddies.

02:17I think we know that given our reach is now so significant, this does and will save lives.

02:23So from primary aged pupils to urgent response paramedics, with today's efforts the charity

02:28is hoping to prove that anyone can become a lifesaver.

02:32Bartholomew Hall for KMTV in Medway.

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