School pupils urged to become lifesavers

Speaking after attending a recent awareness event organised by the BHF at Westminster, Dr McCrea commented: “Every year, over 30,000 people in the UK suffer a cardiac arrest out of hospital, of which a massive 80 per cent occur in the home. In the UK, less than one in ten people survive an out of hospital cardiac arrest. Yet in countries like Norway, where CPR training is mandatory in schools, survival rates are one in four. If the UK achieved the same survival rate as Norway, an additional 5,000 lives could be saved every year.”

He continued: “There is a huge demand for these essential lifesaving skills to become part of the national curriculum, and support is growing for every child in Northern Ireland to leave school equipped with the necessary skills to respond in a medical emergency, and maybe even one day to save someone’s life.

“I am writing to secondary schools within my constituency to encourage them to order a free CPR Call Push Rescue Training Kit to use with their pupils.

“I trust that local schools will see the opportunity that can be derived from having this essential training.”