Last Saturday (14 October 2023), members of Manx Care’s Resus Team joined forces with St John Ambulance to host a day of free training, demonstrating how to use defibrillators and perform Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR).
The campaign (which is led by Resuscitation Council UK) has been implemented on the Isle of Man for the last four years, and this event was the busiest to date, with the two organisations working alongside each other meaning that more members of the public could receive guidance and education on the day.
Over the course of the day, younger children were given guidance on how to call the emergency services and shout for help, whilst older children had a go at performing CPR on mannequins. Teenagers engaged in competitions with friends, or against the Restart a Heart instructors, with results shown on equipment that records the depth and speed of compressions. Visitors also watched defibrillator demonstrations and had the opportunity to learn how to use the life-saving equipment themselves.
The Restart a Heart initiative is led by Resuscitation Council UK, who gather an alliance of partners to raise awareness of cardiac arrests and to help people learn CPR. Survival rates from out-of-hospital cardiac arrests remain stubbornly low in the UK, with fewer than one in ten people surviving.
Senior Nurse, Paul Ellis, who led the event, commented:
'Thank you to everyone who stopped to ask questions, watch demonstrations, and have a go themselves. Restart a Heart is all about education and highlighting the importance of bystander CPR and early defibrillation. As a team we never know how the event will be received, and we know that even if only one person goes away with more confidence and knowledge, then we have achieved what we set out to do.'
Claire Pickering of St John Ambulance, added:
'The day was a great success, and was well received by members of the public. We had people of all ages learning the basics of CPR, having the opportunity to look at the defibrillators and to see how they work. It was fantastic to see a large number of young people come along, who were keen to ask questions and take part. In such a small community, you never know when these skills may be needed and we were proud to be a part of this campaign and look forward to continuing to raise much-needed awareness.'
Photo (from left to right): Claire Pickering, Adele Baron Holmes, Deane Corlett, Matthew Higgins, Laura Stewart, Sue Wilson, Gary Thomas, Richard Cassidy and Chloe Chan.
