There are exciting things happening with First Aid in School and here at Ensure Safety and Training we are fully behind these proposed changes.
UK Government have proposed to make health education compulsory in schools. This means that all children will be equipped with potentially life saving skills to take into the world.
This new proposal will make sure that basic first aid is covered in the curriculum – both at Primary and Secondary level.
Areas to be covered in these lessons include CPR and using Defibrillator equipment at Secondary school. CPR will be on the curriculum in all Secondary schools from September 2020. We can’t wait to see the impact that this will have on the overall rates of First Aid usage and awareness in the UK
Below is a list of useful stats on CPR in the UK*:
CPR is attempted in nearly 30, 000 people who suffer an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) in England each year.
Fewer than 1 in 10 people survive an OHCA in the UK.
Currently only 30-40% of victims receive bystander CPR.
As this intervention can treble survival, it is a key intervention in improving overall survival.
There is strong evidence to show that teaching young people essential life-saving skills leads to more lives saved in all settings and over many years. In Denmark, where CPR training in schools has been mandatory since 2005, the chances of recovery from an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest are triple those in the UK. In Norway, where CPR is also a mandatory part of the curriculum, survival rates from bystander CPR are an astounding 70%, compared to less than 10% in the UK.
CPR can seem like an overwhelming complicated concept for those who haven’t received training and people may be hesitant to get involved hence the stats above of only 30-40% of victims receiving bystander CPR. However, training pupils in this life-saving skill can increase their confidence, awareness and independence; in this, and in other aspects of their lives.
Is your Secondary school providing CPR training? Is your Primary school prioritising First Aid as an essential life skill? We’d love to know your thoughts.
