Cardiac arrest survivors appeal to the public to be CPR Confident this Restart a Heart Day

Cardiac arrest survivors are supporting Yorkshire Ambulance Service’s ambitious plan to teach CPR to more than 35,000 students across the region on Restart a Heart Day.

More than 750 off-duty ambulance staff, Community First Responders and volunteers from partner organisations will visit 172 secondary schools - more than ever before - to provide the life-saving lesson on Wednesday 16 October 2024.

Yorkshire Ambulance Service has also provided five young people at Parkwood Academy in Sheffield with the skills to deliver their own CPR training session on the day, an initiative that will be rolled out across the region.

According to preliminary data from the University of Warwick, Yorkshire Ambulance Service clinicians were successful in restarting 974 hearts in 2023 (compared to 933 the previous year). To help them restart even more hearts, it’s vital that members of the public act immediately to perform CPR when someone has collapsed and stopped breathing.

Jason Carlyon, Community Engagement Manager with Yorkshire Ambulance Service, said: “What happens in the first few minutes after someone has suffered a cardiac arrest is vital. If bystanders can call 999 and start CPR while sending someone to retrieve the nearest defibrillator, that person’s chances of survival can triple.

“We know about three students who took part in Restart a Heart Day last year who have since used CPR to help save the lives of parents which is incredible and really emphasises the importance of our campaign and knowing what to do.”

The 11^th annual mass CPR training session is supported by cardiac arrest patients and life-savers:

• Castleford Ambulance Care Assistant Mark Spedding who had a cardiac arrest while calling 999 for an ambulance. He will be sharing his story with students at Penistone Grammar School and has released the audio of his 999 call to raise awareness about the importance of early CPR.
• Charlotte Hogg, of Boroughbridge, who helped to save her father’s life when she was a teenager, will be helping with CPR training at The Forest School in
• Karen Jenner, of Leeds, who has been raising funds for the Yorkshire Ambulance Service Charity after her life was saved by paramedics.
• Rachael Coyne, of Huddersfield, who was saved by her son and his girlfriend at their home in
• Retired RAF first responder Raymond Berry, of Keighley, whose life was saved by a passing non-emergency Patient Transport Service crew who were flagged down when he collapsed by the roadside.

When someone calls 999 for a patient in cardiac arrest, the call taker will ask a series of questions at the same time as help is being arranged and will also provide instructions about how to perform CPR and the location of the nearest defibrillator. It’s vital that callers try to stay calm and give clear information.

Helen Smith, Dispatch Team Leader in the Emergency Operations Centre at Yorkshire Ambulance Service added: “Learning how to perform CPR takes just a few moments and can give you the confidence and skills to act and change a life forever. However, if you do come across someone in cardiac arrest and are not sure what to do, when you ring 999 we will talk you through how to do effective CPR and how to access your nearest defibrillator. But whatever your skill level, it’s vital that you remain calm and act fast.”

Find out where you can learn CPR on the Yorkshire Ambulance Service Restart a Heart website.

Yorkshire Ambulance Service has provided free CPR training to more than 234,708 youngsters at the majority of secondary schools across Yorkshire since Restart a Heart Day began in Yorkshire in 2014.

Currently in the UK, less than one in ten (8.6%) people survive an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. If we achieved the same survival rates of countries like Norway (25%), where CPR is taught in schools, an additional 100 lives could be saved each week - the equivalent of approximately 5,000 every year.

Supported by the Yorkshire Ambulance Service Charity, the event is delivered and promoted in partnership with the Resuscitation Council (UK), British Heart Foundation (BHF), St John Ambulance and the Red Cross.