Pupils learn life-saving skills thanks to Kenilworth charity

Pupils at a school in Kenilworth were recently trained in life-saving skills by a local charity.

Last week 270 pupils in Year 8 at Kenilworth School were trained in CPR - including the use of Automated External Defibrillators (AED’s) by Kenilworth HeartSafe as part of their Saving Lives in Kenilworth campaign.

Six separate training sessions were run for groups of 45 students, which involved training videos, live demonstrations of CPR and the use of defibrillators with the opportunity for the students to have hands on practice.

Louise Williams from Kenilworth School said: “This is the third occasion that the Kenilworth HeartSafe Team have undertaken this training for our Year 7 or Year 8 students, which we see as an early introduction to life saving skills – all designed to equip them to be good citizens in the communities in which they live”.

Seringa Dudley, a trustee of Kenilworth HeartSafe and a lead trainer on the day, said: “It is always satisfying to see the enthusiasm with which these young students receive this training and to hear the perceptiveness of their questions as we go through the program.

"The sessions are designed to equip the students with the basic skills to come to the aid of anyone in distress who is displaying the signs of cardiac arrest.

"Summoning the emergency services is an essential initial step but the application of CPR, particularly if it is accompanied by the use of an AED, before professional support arrives on the scene could make a huge difference to the outcome for the casualty.

"The more members of our community in all age groups who are aware of these skills the greater the opportunity for saving lives.”

There are now more than publicly accessible AEDs in and around Kenilworth and 17 of these have been facilitated by Kenilworth HeartSafe since their campaign started three years ago.

For information about Kenilworth HeartSafe; the location of all AED’s in and around Kenilworth; its CPR training programme and ways of making donations to support the ‘Saving Lives in Kenilworth’ campaign go to: http://kenilworthheartsafe.com/