As the Swindon SALVE Project hold their inaugural meeting, Justin Tomlinson MP today declared his support for this fantastic initiative.
The aims of the SALVE (Save A Live by Volunteers in Emergencies) project are as follows:
1 To educate all children of Year 10 in the Borough of Swindon in how to recognize a cardiac arrest or heart attack and how to administer life-saving CPR.
2 To coordinate and investigate the administration, location and maintenance of community-based AEDs (Automatic External
Defibrillators) in Swindon.
3 To encourage the local population to be aware of the need for CPR knowledge and assist in their training.
The issue of emergency life saving skills is one that Justin has been very active on, leading a campaign in Parliament calling for the teaching of emergency life saving skills to be compulsory in schools.
There are 30,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in the UK each year and only one in twelve will survive. For every minute that passes in cardiac arrest, the patient’s chance of survival falls by 10%. However, if immediate CPR—cardiopulmonary resuscitation—is given, survival rates increase threefold. In Seattle, all young people are trained in these essential skills, an investment that is reflected in survival rates. Whilst in the UK less than 10% survive an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, in Seattle that is a staggering 46%.
Justin Tomlinson MP, Honorary President of the Swindon British Heart Foundation said: “The SALVE project is a fantastic initiative that I fully support. I have been working hard in Parliament to raise this issue and ensure that every child is equipped with the skills that one day may save a life. I am delighted that Swindon is taking the initiative on this, taking the decision to ensure our own young people have the ability to save lives.”
A ‘Pilot’ training programme has already been carried out at a local Swindon Secondary School and produced encouraging results and the project now aims to train some 2200 Year 10 students throughout Swindon as well as other interested parties in the community.
If successful in achieving its objectives, the SALVE project will deliver for Swindon:
1 Swindon will become the first Borough in the UK to have trained all their Year 10 children in the knowledge of heart problems and CPR.
2 Swindon will become the leading town in the UK for Public Awareness of CPR and AED deployment and availability.
3 It with illustrate the Community spirit that exists in this Borough and save lives!
You can find out more about the SALVE project from the Swindon Borough Council website here
