WITH an estimated 30,000 people experiencing an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, St John Ambulance is providing free life-saving skills as part of its Restart a Heart campaign.

For every minute that passes following a cardiac arrest and prior to CPR and a defibrillator is used, the chances of the patient surviving drop by 10 per cent.  Less than one person in ten survives an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

Volunteers from St John Ambulance are giving free demonstrations of life-saving skills between October 5 and October 28 across the county to give people the opportunity to learn essential first aid skills.

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Medical director at St John Ambulance, Dr Lynn Thomas, said: “We’re thrilled to be working with our partners again on another Restart a Heart campaign. Anyone can be affected by a sudden cardiac arrest at any time, and without intervention, the person will quickly die, so I’d absolutely encourage readers to find a local demo to attend and to feel invited, included and involved in this year’s campaign.”

She added: “Every extra person who learns these vital skills is someone who could potentially save a life and help someone when they most need it. We look forward to seeing everyone at our demos and to another successful Restart a Heart campaign this year.”

Practical information will be given on cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) how to understand the difference between a cardiac arrest and a heart attack and how to use a defibrillator to deliver shocks to the heart.

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This is the ninth Restart a Heart programme, and the aim is to build confidence among the public when needing to use a CPR and defibrillator. They plan to connect with ‘hot spot’ communities where cardiac arrest rates are higher than the UK average and bystander CPR rates are lower than average.

The campaign is led by Resuscitation Council UK, and the partners in Restart a Heart include St John, The British Heart Foundation, British Red Cross, the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives, NHS England and Improvement, Save a Life for Scotland, Save a Life Cymru, Ambulance Services and Universities.

In Salisbury, training will take place at the Guildhall on Saturday, October 22 between 9 am and 3 pm and those who are interested are asked to email ian.shortman@sja.org.uk