GOSH joins nationwide push to train young people in life-saving CPR

Hundreds of children have been trained today as young lifesavers at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH), learning vital cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) skills as part of the national Restart A Heart Day.

The annual initiative, led by the British Heart Foundation and the Resuscitation Council (UK), aims to improve the very low numbers of people surviving out-of-hospital cardiac arrests.

The lifesavers, trained by Great Ormond Street Hospital Resuscitation team, learnt how to spot the signs of a cardiac arrest and what to do to save somebody’s life.

Supported by the British Heart Foundation and the Resuscitation Council, GOSH facilitated the free training event for hundreds of young people and children across the capital, including families and siblings of GOSH patients.

GOSH patients who could not attend the training participated using Virtual Reality headsets.

Each year approximately 30,000 people suffer a cardiac arrest outside of hospital in the UK. Their chances of survival more than double if a bystander immediately delivers CPR before the arrival of emergency services.

The young attendees at today’s GOSH event learnt about the recovery position, what to do if someone is not responding and not breathing normally, how to correctly perform chest compressions, and what an automated external defibrillator (AED) looks like and how safe they are to use.

By educating more children in basic lifesaving skills, organisers hope to improve the outcomes of people who have a cardiac arrest outside of hospital.