‘CPR can triple your chance of survival’

That’s according to the Save a Life Scotland charity, which says the city has the worst heart attack rates in Scotland.

Today, the group has given its backing to the Tele’s Learn To Be a Lifesaver campaign, which aims to get more Dundonians signing up for first aid courses.

The campaign is inspired by the heroic actions of postie Nicola Johnson, who administered CPR to an unconscious woman in Lochee during her round.

A variety of courses, aimed at teaching people how to deal with a raft of different emergencies, are on offer. Save a Life Scotland aims to raise awareness of bystander CPR prior to the arrival of ambulance personnel. Lisa MacInnes, national programme manager for the charity, said: “Despite years of great work by groups who have taught CPR to schools, communities and businesses, less than half of those people in Dundee who have a cardiac arrest outside of hospital will get bystander CPR. “This figure is no different to that of other large cities in Scotland. “But it is increasingly important, as recent figures from the Resuscitation Research Group at the University of Edinburgh show that Dundee has a larger number of cardiac arrests per head of the population than any other major Scottish city.”

Among the groups and charities signed up to support the campaign are the British Red Cross, NHS Tayside, the ambulance and fire services, police youth volunteers, Heartstart Discovery and the British Heart Foundation.

Lisa said: “CPR is a life-saving skill. If your heart stops suddenly and unexpectedly — something that happens to 65 people of all ages in Scotland every week — chest compressions from someone nearby could save your life.

“By buying time until help arrives, CPR can triple your chance of survival.”

Save a Life Scotland aims to help save 1,000 lives by 2020 through supporting an additional 500,000 people living in Scotland to learn the skill of “hands only” bystander CPR.

LESS than half of people in Dundee who suffer a cardiac arrest outside of hospital will receive cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) .

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