The South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT) is calling on communities across the South West to learn CPR and how to use a defibrillator through free awareness sessions.

Towns, villages, and neighbourhoods across the South West can now request sessions, which the SWASFT hopes will increase the chances of survival for cardiac arrest patients by providing members of the public with the skills to act before ambulance crews arrive.

The interactive sessions will teach people how to recognise cardiac arrest, perform effective CPR, and use a defibrillator, with opportunities to ask questions and practice hands-on.

Hannah Butler, defibrillator project officer at SWASFT, said: “Those first few minutes after a cardiac arrest are absolutely crucial. By giving more people the skills and confidence to perform CPR and use a defibrillator, we can dramatically improve someone’s chance of survival.

“Our community training volunteers are passionate about sharing these lifesaving skills. We want to work with everyone across the South West to make this training as accessible as possible, so more people are confident to step forward and help in an emergency.”

This new initiative forms part of SWASFT’s wider work to improve survival rates from cardiac arrest and tackle health inequalities by ensuring more communities have access to learning lifesaving skills.

While the training sessions are free to communities, attendees are invited to make a voluntary donation to the South Western Ambulance Charity.

A cardiac arrest can happen to anyone, anywhere. In the UK, only around one in ten people survive an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, but using CPR and a defibrillator within three to five minutes can increase survival rates to up to 70 per cent. However, 38 per cent of UK adults have not received CPR training.

Community groups interested in hosting a session can find out more and submit a booking request via the SWASFT website: https://www.swast.nhs.uk/cpr-and-defibrillator-training.