Restart a Heart Day
#RestartAHeart
Restart a Heart Day takes place on and around the 16th October each year. Restart a Heart Day raises awareness about cardiac arrest and helps people learn CPR, giving them lifesaving skills and the confidence to use them.
During this time, the Resuscitation Council UK along with the British Heart Foundation, British Red Cross, St John Ambulance, the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives, NHS England, Save a Life for Scotland, Save a Life Cymru, and Northern Ireland Ambulance work together to raise awareness of cardiac arrest and teach CPR.
Defibrillator Fund
It’s been a year since the Government pledged to provide every school with a life-saving defibrillator.
The Government currently encourages schools to have an automated external defibrillator (AED) on their premises as part of their first aid equipment. AEDs are currently available for schools and other education providers in the UK to purchase through the NHS Supply Chain at a reduced cost. These arrangements are available to all UK schools, including academies and independent schools, sixth-form colleges, FE institutions and early years settings (including holiday and out-of-school providers).
The Government has produced guidance for schools on buying, installing and using an AED, which can be viewed here.
The funding is part of the government’s commitment to support the treatment and prevention of cardiovascular disease and improving access to emergency treatment across England. Organisations and individuals that acquire defibrillators or already own them are urged to register them on The Circuit, a national defibrillator database for ambulance services to quickly identify the nearest device.
The Circuit was set up by the NHS, British Heart Foundation (BHF), the Resuscitation Council UK, and the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives. State-funded schools in England that do not already have a defibrillator will receive one from the Department for Education over the course of this and next year, with the aim that every school will have a life-saving defibrillator by the end of 2023.
Cardiac Arrest and CPR
According to the British Heart Foundation, approximately 30,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests happen every year in the UK with less than one in 10 people surviving them. However, in some cases, performing CPR can more than double the chances of survival.
If you know what to do when someone collapses and stops breathing, you could potentially save someone’s life. In this event, it’s essential to call 999 and perform CPR and use a defibrillator if there is one available.
Did you know that around 80% of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests happen in the home? This is why it’s so important to make sure you know what to do as this gives family members the best chance of surviving.
Learn CPR and First Aid in School
There are a number of providers in the UK that offer first aid and CPR training for schools and staff.
St. John Ambulance provides courses designed specifically for schools so that you can cover your first aid needs as a workplace and help meet your duty of care for your pupils. They provide courses that will help your establishment meet its legal requirements in terms of paediatric first aid, anaphylaxis, what to do in an emergency, first aid at work, and more. There is more information about all of this here.
You can even make CPR and first aid part of your school curriculum. Pupils can get involved and learn about first aid from inside the classroom. St John Ambulance offers free lesson plans, resources and outdoor first aid scenario cards to help your pupils learn these extremely valuable and essential skills. You can read more about this by clicking here.
The British Red Cross provides first aid training specifically for teachers in areas such as what to do if someone is choking, stops breathing, has an asthma attack, and more. You can find more information about this here.
Tigerlily First Aid Training offers a number of first aid training courses for schools and education, created specifically for teachers and support staff in preparation for emergencies that may arise in early years, primary and secondary environments. Take a look at the courses they provide here.
You can even learn how to perform CPR online with RevivR, created by the British Heart Foundation. This free 15-minute CPR training course gives you a tutorial on what to do when someone goes into cardiac arrest. What’s great about this training is that you can complete it wherever you want - all you need is your phone and a cushion. Start your online training here.
New Funding Available for Communities in Need
A new £1 million fund has been announced by the Department of Health and Social Care to increase the number of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in communities most in need.
The funding is expected to provide an estimated 1,000 new defibrillators in community spaces across England, potentially doubling the number of defibrillators through successful bidder matching.
Organisations will be invited to bid for the funding in areas where they are most needed. These areas include schools, places with high footfall, areas which attract vulnerable people, rural areas, or due to the nature of activity at the site. The aim is to ensure that defibrillators are evenly spread throughout communities and easily accessible in case of unexpected cardiac arrest.