Hundreds of Glasgow cab drivers could be taught life- saving CPR
A PLAN to equip all London cabbies with life- saving CPR skills could be replicated in Glasgow.
The London Ambulance Service is training hackney drivers to help save the lives of passengers in the UK capital who suffer a cardiac arrest.
Paramedics have taught the drivers to perform CPR and fitted their vehicles with defibrillators as part of a sixmonth pilot- scheme.
The pla n h a s b e en welcomed by Stephen Flynn, chairman of Glasgow Taxis Ltd, the second largest licenced taxi firm in the UK, which has a fleet of around 800 cabs.
He said replicating the pilot in Glasgow would depend on licensing regulations but believes it would be enthusiastically received by drivers.
In Scotland, only one in 20 people who have a cardiac arrest outside hospital survive, compared to one in 10 in England. Glasgow has the highest number of cardiac arrests in the UK.
Stephen Flynn, chairman of Glasgow Taxis, said: “We applaud our colleagues in London for taking on this initiative and wish them well with it. We would have to closely examine all the licensing and legal considerations but I’m sure it is something a lot of Glasgow Taxis drivers would be willing to get involved in should the pilot scheme in London prove a success.”
David McColgan, director of policy, for British Heart Foundation ( BHF) Scotland said: “We would welcome everyone taking the opportunity to be trained in CPR as we know from international evidence that the more people that are trained survival rates increase.”
The Evening Times is currently leading a campaign urging all of Scotland 32 local authorities to – teach all secondary pupils CPR with support from BHF.
Glasgow City Council was the first local authority in the UK to back our life- saving campaign and were followed by Aberdeen City, which is also looking into the number of defibrillators in schools.
The heart charity is now in talks with several other councils including Angus, East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Falkirk, Inverclyde, Perth & Kinross, Renfrew, South Lanarkshire, B o r d e r s a n d S o ut h Lanarkshire.
The UK government has unveiled plans to make CPR training part of the school curriculum.