South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust launched its build-up to the 2022 World Restart a Heart Day, which will take place on Sunday, 16 October, with an innovative 24-hour ‘CPR-a-thon’ challenge led by South Central Ambulance Charity and US technology company Tanium, which has a UK headquarters in Reading.
The event took place on 22 and 23 September and you can read more here: Ambulance charity partners with technology company to complete 24-hour ‘CPR-a-thon’ | South Central Ambulance Service (scas.nhs.uk).
You may also be interested in this amazing story BBC South News – Teenage daughter’s CPR saves her father’s life – YouTube
Restart a Heart Day activities in the UK are led each year by the Resuscitation Council UK with the aiming of raising awareness of CPR and automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in the community. SCAS, via the community engagement and training team and the South Central Ambulance Charity’s volunteer community first responders, has its own packed diary of events for the week leading up to Restart a Heart Day.
This year will see SCAS will host a series of events and training sessions and feature a number of case studies/films on CPR and defibrillator awareness over the course of the week before, including our Facebook live channel here.
These will include CPR training sessions in the West Quay Shopping Centre in Southampton from 10am to 4pm on 16 October and plans are being made to host sessions at Portsmouth Guildhall on the same day, as well as utilising the big screen outside the Guildhall.
There will also be a major drive to teach CPR in schools across Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Hampshire over the course of the week, with the following schools confirmed so far (and the SCAS mascot 999 Ted to appear at one of these during the week):
Berkshire:
- Denefield School
- King’s Academy
- St Margaret Clitherow Catholic Primary School
- The Willink School
- Newlands’ Girls School
- John Madejski Academy
- Easthampstead Park Community School
- Westwood Farm Junior School
Buckinghamshire:
- St Michael’s Catholic School
- Amersham School
- Buckingham School
- Great Marlow School
Oxfordshire:
- Gosford Hill School
- The Henry Box School
- Gillotts School
- Wallingford School
Hampshire
- The Cowplain School
- The Vyne Community School
- The Mountbatten School
- Bridgemary School
- Churcher’s College
- Wildground Federation
- Mayfield School
If you are a teacher interested in having a SCAS representative come to train students in your school please let us know. If you know and understand CPR and are registered with the ‘Disclosure and Barring Service’ (DBS), then you could help us instruct students on the day.
Please contact us at rah@scas.nhs.uk and we’ll be happy to send you the information on how to get involved.