University nurses want to help you be ready to save lives

Monday 11 March 2019

A team of hard-working student nurses from RGU's School of Nursing and Midwifery have made it their mission to train the public in CPR, with the hope of doubling survival rates across the country for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

They will be holding an all-day CPR training event at RGU’s Sir Ian Wood Building on Friday 15 March, where around 20 third and fourth year students will be on hand to work with members of the public and develop this vital life-saving skill.

These efforts are part of a national campaign – Save a Life for Scotland – which aims to equip an additional 500,000 people with CPR skills by 2020.

The campaign states that every year over 3,500 people across Scotland are treated by the Ambulance Service after having cardiac arrest, but only around 1 in 12 will survive.

Mark Drummond, one of the nursing students involved in the organising this month’s event, says that the number of people surviving thanks to CPR is slowly on the rise and he’s looking forward to playing his part.

He said: “Every week in Scotland, 70 people will have a sudden cardiac arrest – that’s more than a full double-decker bus – and it can happen to anyone, of any age, at any time.

“Effective CPR can be taught in less than 20 minutes and that is time well-spent if we, as a country, can save several hundred additional people each year.”

Fellow student Lauren Anderson added: “We have had a lot of fantastic feedback already about our upcoming event – both within the university and across the region. This includes companies arranging to send teams of staff and invitations going out to parents at our local partner schools.

“All of us look forward to welcoming as many people as possible and making a difference to the health and wellbeing of the nation.”

The CPR event at RGU’s Garthdee campus will be open to people of all ages and feature the use of user-friendly specialist equipment, including CPR mannequins and automated external defibrillators. Attendees will also walk away with a certificate to show they have been fully CPR trained.

Kevin Forbes, a lecturer in RGU’s School of Nursing and Midwifery, is one of the staff members looking forward to supporting this student-led endeavour.

He said: “I’m incredibly proud of work that our students have been putting in to this event. Not only is it an excellent final learning experience before they head into the workforce, but it demonstrates the kind of impactful work that will see them thrive in the future.”

Members of the public are invited to the Sir Ian Wood Building at RGU on Friday 15 March between 9am-5pm.

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