Justin Meets British Heart Foundation To Discuss Emergency Lifesaving Skills In Schools

North Swindon MP Justin Tomlinson has met with the British Heart Foundation as part of his ongoing campaign to add the teaching of Emergency Lifesaving Skills to the curriculum. 

The local MP, who is the Patron of the Swindon Branch of the British Heart Foundation, has been lobbying Ministers so that schools deliver a one hour lesson to pupils to help teach emergency first aid and CPR. There are 30,000 cardiac arrests a year outside of a hospital, for which the survival chances are 12%, which is one of the lowest rates in the world.

For every minute that passes in which somebody is not given help, their chances of survival fall by a staggering 10%. 10,000 cardiac arrests are witnessed by members of the public, but those witnesses do not have the confidence to do anything for fear they will make it worse

Justin, whose father died of a cardiac arrest, has been a long-term supporter of the British Heart Foundation's campaign to train a generation of lifesavers. 

During the meeting, Justin and Susannah Kerr from BHF discussed the ongoing review into Personal Social Health and Economic (PSHE) education, as well as receiving an update that the charity has resources in place already to support more than half of schools if the changes are made to the curriculum.

Last week the new Secretary of State for Education, Damian Hinds MP, agreed to meet Justin to discuss his proposals and to look into the plans put together by experts including the British Heart Foundation.

Justin Tomlinson MP said: "Each year 30,000 people will have a cardiac arrest outside of hospital and fewer then 4,000 will survive. My involvement with the British Heart Foundation is deeply personal. When I was twelve I was with my father when he suffered a cardiac arrest and sadly passed away. This is why, since my election in 2010, I have worked closely with the BHF to promote its ambition of creating a nation of lifesavers, where everybody has the skills and confidence to save a life. I look forward to meeting with the Education Secretary to discuss the proposals to create a generation of lifesavers."