Our first Free Defibrillator / CPR course in Summertown
Could you carry out successful CPR on a loved one or a complete stranger?
What do you think…
It’s a massive undertaking and according to The British Heart Foundation, there are 30,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests every year and fewer than one in ten people survive. No wonder when only 37% of people feel confident enough to use an AED or administer CPR in an emergency.
Our local community is important to us and so we decided to put on a free Defibrillator \ CPR Training course to raise awareness.
Having made the decision we had to find a suitable location to hold the training course in, and a company specialising in first aid.
After some research, we found First for Safety Oxfordshire who run a range of courses in this field. We got in touch and discussed what we wanted to do.
After researching possible local venues to hold our free course in, we came across the North Oxford Association Community Centre. I went on a recce to look at the main room and get a better idea of the size we’d be working with and the facilities and equipment available. I was pleasantly surprised, it was a good size, chairs and tables were available and there was a kitchenette with cups and two urns for the tea and coffee we’d be providing.
After a successful visit, our first Training course would be on 26th March and would run from 6 pm til 8 pm.
After promoting the event on our Summertown Facebook group it soon filled with eager participants.
The day was soon upon us, I headed down the booked hall and we soon had the room set up and ready – chairs in a semicircle, and the two tables set out. Everything was ready for Drew (our course instructor) to present her life-saving knowledge to a well-attended class. I helped her to lay out some dummy torso’s for people to practise on and wired up her TV and laptop.
After a brief chat to put everyone at ease, Drew delivered a brilliant training course, which was both light-hearted and easy to follow. Everyone got to try out CPR and using an AED (Automated External Defibrillator) on one of the dummies.
Drew helped everyone to get the hang of it and even produced Barbara Books, a special mannequin with boobs, to get the hang of having to take a bra off before using a defibrillator on someone. There is a very handy website called Bra Off Defib On, whose purpose in life is to educate people on the importance of defibrillator safety and to encourage them to remove the bra in an emergency to increase the chances of survival.
Those attending were very engaged with Drew and the relaxed nature of her presentation allowed them to ask questions when needed.
The way in which Drew ran the course was great and everyone went away happier, wiser and more competent to perform CPR and use an AED in an emergency.
We have such great feedback that we have now booked another two courses – one in July (Tuesday 2nd) and another on the 8th of October.
As before, these will run for 90 minutes and will be totally free for everyone.
If you are interested in either of these please get booked in as spaces are filling up already! You can visit our Facebook event page for the next event and you can sign up to confirm you place on our 2nd July course by filling in a quick form.
4 May 2024
