Start the year with a life-saving skill – learn CPR

If you're making a New Year's resolution this year, consider choosing one that could save lives – learning cardiopulmonary resuscitation, commonly known as CPR.

First team players of Norwich City FC were recently taught the life-saving skills in a session run by staff and volunteers at the East of England Ambulance Service (EEAST).

During the hour-long session at the club’s training ground the players were taught CPR and how to use a defibrillator.

The session was part of East of England Ambulance Service’s Restart a Heart campaign, while Norwich City this season have been supporting “Every Minute Matters”, a campaign led by the British Heart Foundation in partnership with Sky Bet.

Both campaigns have the same goal – to encourage more people to learn the life-saving skills of CPR.

There are over 30,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in the UK each year where resuscitation of a patient is attempted. Fewer than one in ten people currently survive.

The earlier CPR starts the better for the patient – with every minute without CPR and defibrillation reducing the chances of survival by 10%.

This shows the impact people can have by knowing how to perform CPR and starting it before the ambulance service arrives.

A survey by the Resuscitation Council UK found that 24% of people would not be confident ‘at all’ helping someone in cardiac arrest. A further 37% of people surveyed said they wouldn’t feel ‘very’ confident.

Norwich City FC defender Jack Stacey said:

“We've seen instances of footballers on the pitch or fans in the stands where their lives have literally been saved by people who know how to do CPR and use a defibrillator.

“So hopefully you can now add one of us to that list if the occasion ever calls for it.”

Peter Sefton-Smalley, community response manager for EEAST in Norfolk and Waveney, said:

“The chances of surviving an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest has remained very low for many years. This highlights the importance of campaigns to increase the number of people learning these life-saving skills."

“Like football, survival from a cardiac arrest is a team effort and early CPR and the use of defibrillator is crucial in what we call the chain of survival."

The Every Minute Matters campaign urges everyone to take just 15 minutes to learn CPR with RevivR, the BHF’s free and easy to use online tool which can be found on the footer of the Norwich City FC website.

The East of England Ambulance Service offers free community-based education programme in basic life support (BLS) and defibrillator awareness (AED). The EEAST Heart courses are run by EEAST volunteers and staff and you request training on EEAST’s website.