Every child, and every adult, has the potential to save a life. They just need to know how.
Approaching 10,000 children and adults, across over 90 schools and organisations, are set to become potential life-savers on Monday 16th October as we equip them with the confidence and skills to provide CPR through our exciting new Restart a Heart with KSS Online CPR Awareness Sessions.
Throughout the day our specialist critical care doctors and paramedics from KSS are hosting free, fun and interactive sessions, tailored to different age groups, that anyone with internet access can take part in to gain skills that could one day help them to save a life:
Across the South East, an average of 22 people each day suffer a cardiac arrest out of a hospital. Sadly, the overall survival rate last year for this group of people was around 11%, and survival falls by up to10% for every minute a patient doesn’t receive CPR or defibrillation.
But bystander CPR can make a critical difference.
KSS Paramedic Ben Paul,, who is leading on the initiative, said: “Everyone has the potential to save a life with CPR, they just need to know how. We’re incredibly excited that so many people will be joining our Restart A Heart with KSS Online CPR Awareness Sessions and we couldn’t be more passionate about equipping as many people as possible across our communities with the confidence and skills that could help them save a life.”
KSS volunteer Steve Harley saved his father Colin’s life in 2021 by giving him CPR within minutes of his cardiac arrest, keeping him alive until a paramedic and then KSS arrived to provide life-saving care. Steve has been closely involved in the preparations for Restart a Heart Day.
Steve recalled: “I’ve had many different lots of first aid training and CPR is one of those things that you hope you’ll never have to use. Luckily, I knew what to do when my father had a cardiac arrest.
“These sessions from KSS are a great way of providing youngsters and their parents with the skills that could help them save a life.”
Every year on Restart a Heart Day, led by the Resuscitation Council UK and British Heart Foundation, an alliance of partners all over the world (including UK Ambulance Services, Universities, and other charitable and public sector community-based organisations and first aid training organisations) come together to increase public awareness of cardiac arrests and increase the number of people trained in life saving CPR.
James Cant, CEO at Resuscitation Council UK, said: “We’re on a mission to increase out of hospital cardiac arrest survival rates, and that’s why we spearheaded the Restart A Heart campaign. It’s so encouraging to see KSS are geared up to provide lifesaving skills to nearly 10,000 people in the community, which will ultimately help save lives.”
Schools, businesses, groups and individuals, who want to sign up for our sessions can do so quickly and easily at aakss.org.uk/restart.
