Reds in the Community and Barnsley Football Club are proud to be supporting the British Heart Foundation’s Restart A Heart Day campaign.
16 October 2019 – Only 31% of people in the UK who haven’t had professional training on a CPR course are likely to help someone who has collapsed and stopped breathing.
Research by The Resuscitation Council (UK) and St John Ambulance to mark the sixth annual ‘Restart a Heart’ Day shows that the general public are afraid to give cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) without training, putting lives in danger.
‘Stranger danger’ and ‘busyness bias’ were also cited as possible reasons for not helping someone who might have collapsed or stopped breathing in front of them. Just 64% would give CPR to a stranger – compared to 83% who would help a family member and only 60% of respondents are likely to give CPR in a crowded location, compared to 79%, if they were the only ones around.
The survey of 2326 people by YouGov, which asked respondents to consider what would make them more or less likely to intervene in a cardiac arrest, clearly shows the positive effect of CPR training. An impressive 71% of people who have had some first aid professional training would be prepared to stop and help someone if they had a cardiac arrest in any situation.
To mark the day, everyone at Oakwell is joining the British Heart Foundation and charities across the UK in urging people to learn CPR.
It is, of course, a subject that is all too prominent in the minds of us all, following the devastating passing of 66-year-old Reds fan Jeffrey Wroe at the recent Derby County fixture.
Andy Lockey, Vice President of the Resuscitation Council (UK) and Restart a Heart Day Lead said: “Every minute without CPR and defibrillation reduces someone’s chance of survival by up to 10%. Training is the biggest factor in the likelihood of intervention – validating the need for as many people as possible to learn the simple skills needed to save a life. Cardiac arrest can happen to anyone, at any time. In an emergency, CPR can’t wait.”
On and around 16 October, charities and ambulance trusts are coming together for Restart a Heart day to host events and visit schools across the UK to provide young people and adults with the skills and confidence to give life-saving CPR to anyone who needs it.
The initiative, led by Resuscitation Council (UK) in partnership with St John Ambulance, The British Heart Foundation, British Red Cross, and Yorkshire Ambulance Service and with participation from every UK Ambulance service, aims to improve survival rates from out of hospital cardiac arrests.
Organisations across the world are highlighting this day by performing CPR in iconic locations – including Stonehenge in Wiltshire, down in England’s last deep coal mine in Yorkshire, the Colosseum in Rome, and Mecca in Saudi Arabia.
For more information on Restart a Heart day and how you can get involved, visit resus.org.uk/rsah.
Stephen Powis, National Medical Director of NHS England said: “While the NHS is stepping up with investment in better treatment and more convenient access to care and prevention support, this campaign to raise awareness of CPR – which dramatically increases people’s chance of surviving a cardiac arrest – will help everyone to help the NHS by giving people the practical skills and confidence they need to be a lifesaver.”
