Published on:
13
September 2018
Clackmannanshire’s three secondary schools will be teaching pupils CPR skills, and Lornshill Academy is the first to receive a Call Push Rescue CPR training kit from British Heart Foundation (BHF) Scotland.
The kit includes mannequins and an instruction DVD for pupils and staff to learn about and practice the skills needed for CPR. They received the equipment and some coaching from British Heart Foundation Scotland staff Marjory Wood and Lisa Robertson, and were joined by Education Spokesperson Cllr Graham Lindsay.
Cllr Lindsay said: “I was delighted to join pupils and staff from Lornshill and Alloa Academies to learn more about the CPR training that is being rolled out in our senior schools. In Clackmannanshire, we are committed to ensuring that our young people have a breadth of skills and experiences to prepare them for life, work and future learning, and gaining essential skills that could help save a life is a very welcome addition. We’re grateful to the British Heart Foundation Scotland for their support in helping our academies to teach this important skill.”
Lisa Robertson, BHF Scotland’s fundraising manager in Clackmannanshire said: “We were delighted to be at Lornshill Academy and see our Call Push Rescue CPR training kits being put to use to provide vital and life saving CPR skills, and it’s great that Clackmannanshire Council is leading the way in offering these important skills to its secondary pupils.
“BHF Scotland is encouraging Local Authorities across Scotland to commit to equipping all secondary school pupils with CPR training, and we are offering a free Call Push Rescue CPR training kit to every eligible secondary school in Scotland to help Local Authorities achieve this.
“International evidence shows this works. After Denmark introduced CPR training for all secondary pupils, its cardiac arrest survival rate tripled, and now 1 in 4 people survive an out of hospital cardiac arrest there. Both Norway and Seattle in the United States also teach all of their secondary pupils CPR, and 1 in 4 and 1 in 5 people survive an out of hospital cardiac arrest in these places respectively.
“Scotland currently lags behind, with only one person on average surviving for every 12 people who have an out of hospital cardiac arrest in our country. If we taught every secondary pupil CPR, we could greatly improve our own cardiac arrest survival rate
“We congratulate Clackmannanshire Council on having taken this pioneering and life saving step, and we hope all other Local Authorities in Scotland will be encouraged to follow its lead.”