Be heart smart at a free CPR session

The Restart a Heart campaign is returning this month and I am writing to encourage readers of your newspaper to attend free CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) and defibrillator demonstrations arranged by St John Ambulance’s highly-skilled volunteers in Somerset. With just one person in 10 currently surviving an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, it is essential that many more individuals are equipped with heart-related first aid skills so that we can build safer communities. A cardiac arrest can happen at any time and without warning. We’re hoping that as many local people as possible will take the opportunity to attend these one-hour sessions, so they can potentially save a life if they find someone unresponsive and not breathing. These skills are very easy to pick up but can have an incredible impact. CPR on its own can double a patient’s chance of survival if used quickly, and deploying a defibrillator at the same time can increase survival chances even more significantly. Details of times and locations where St John Ambulance volunteers are running demonstrations are available online: www.sja.org. uk/restartaheart Each session last for an hour and there is no need to book a place. The session in Bath takes place at 1 Weirside Court, Lower Bristol Road, Bath on October 16 from 7:30-9pm. I hope your readers will be interested in receiving this training and that, as a result, more people in Somerset will be ready and able to step forward and intervene in the event of a cardiac arrest. Sarah Clothier County President, Somerset St John Ambulance