London Ambulance Service gives thousands of schoolchildren life-saving training

London Ambulance Service (LAS) launched its London Lifesavers schools campaign on Restart a Heart day at the end of the last year.

LAS clinicians have already taught life-saving skills to more than 1,500 Year 8 children from schools across the capital. A further 4,681 are booked in for sessions in February and March.

At the moment fewer than one in 10 people survive a cardiac arrest. Early chest compressions and the use of a defibrillator can more than double someone’s chances of survival.

The free training teaches children how to recognise when someone is in cardiac arrest and how to give chest compressions and use a defibrillator.

“We want everyone in London to have the best possible chance of surviving a cardiac arrest. More than 75 percent of cardiac arrests happen in the home, so by teaching children these simple skills, they could save someone they love.

“The children are enthusiastic with lots of questions and love the training and we enjoy teaching them. Any school that wants us to take up this free offer should get in touch today!”

Sam Palfreyman-Jones, Head of First Responders.

Paramedics and emergency medical technicians are visiting two schools every week, teaching hundreds of children a day. The most children trained in a day was 266 at Whitmore High School in South Harrow.

For the London Lifesavers campaign, analysts at LAS have studied data to plan where to offer training first and has targeted seven boroughs in the first few months.

In February, the team will move to the next wave of boroughs and has invited more schools to take up the training.

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