Defibrillator courses become more accessible

St John Ambulance Berkshire is offering local people the chance to learn how to save a life with a  defibrillator on specialised courses to be held in the Royal County throughout March.

Automated External Defibrillator

Around 227,000 people suffer a heart attack in the UK each year with approximately a third of those dying before getting to hospital due to cardiac arrest (*), however if a casualty has their heart shocked back into a normal rhythm using an Automated External Defibrillator ( AED ) their chances of survival are significantly increased.

The four hour AED courses are open to members of the public and also for employers to have their staff trained in the use of the lifesaving equipment for just £80 plus VAT per person. The course has previously only been available for companies to have on their own sites for groups of six or more, so the new scheduled courses present local businesses with the opportunity to train up as few or as many people as they wish at a per person cost.

Cyndy Price, Training manager for St John Ambulance Berkshire says, 'More and more companies and public places such as shopping centres and railway stations are having defibrillators installed, but they are no good unless people have been trained how to use them. We understand that some smaller businesses may not have enough staff to require an on site course, so by offering scheduled courses we feel we are making the training more accessible for everyone.'

So far courses have been scheduled on the following dates:

• 17 March at Windsor
• 24 March in Woodley

There are plans to arrange further courses later in the year. For details contact the Sales Team on 0118 933 5500 or email info@berks.sja.org.uk.

*statistics from the British Heart Foundation.