Restart a Heart Ambassador Programme
Yorkshire Ambulance Service has an Ambassador Programme to equip students with the skills to teach life-saving skills to their peers.
The initiative builds on the success of the Trust’s Restart a Heart campaign which has provided CPR training to tens of thousands of students since it was launched in Yorkshire in 2014.
E-ACT Parkwood Academy in Sheffield is the first school to sign up to the Ambassador Programme whereby secondary school students will be given the skills to teach CPR to fellow pupils.
The scheme aims to help improve cardiac arrest survival rates. A patient’s chance of survival can double if CPR is started as soon as possible after they have collapsed.
Jason Carlyon, Community Engagement Manager for Yorkshire Ambulance Service, said: “Our Restart a Heart campaign has reached more people than we could have imagined since it was launched in 2014, but we now need to think about future sustainability, how we can increase the numbers taught and ultimately save even more lives.
“Development of an ambassador programme creates a network of engaged young people and empowers them to deliver CPR coaching in their own schools and communities with benefits for all."
The purpose of the Ambassador Programme is not to create teachers, but to provide students with enough knowledge in the core subject to be able to confidently share that knowledge with others in a supported environment.
Through involvement in the Ambassador Programme, students can expect to:
- develop employability skills such as confidence speaking in public, presentation skills, teamwork, leadership and responsibility
- experience a high-quality opportunity for social and cultural development
- be prepared for the next phase of education, training or employment
- develop new skills which they can discuss on UCAS forms or at interviews
- be supported by their school/college and by Yorkshire Ambulance Service
To find out more about the programme, email yas.restartaheart@nhs.net
