University of Worcester host CPR marathon

Students will continuously give CPR to a mannequin for 24 hours

Author: Elliot BurrowPublished 14th Mar 2024
Last updated 15th Apr 2024

Students at the University of Worcester have started a 24-hour CPR marathon to encourage and teach more people how to do the life-saving skill.

The challenge, will see students deliver CPR continuously to a mannequin over the period, switching every 2 minutes.

Third year paramedic student Isobel Gamble was the first person to start giving CPR on the doll this morning, and says why learning how to do CPR can be so important.

She said: "We just want to get as many people involved as possible and help teach them what can be a really vital skill to have.

"You never know when you might need it, and if someone did collapse around you then you could deliver CPR which can help that person straight away.

"By just having that knowledge and training it can be really useful, and through my role it's great to be able to train people up with that skill."

Those involved throughout the marathon are also aiming to tackle the statistic that women are less likely to receive CPR from a stranger if they collapse because of a reluctance to touch their chests.

"We've got a massive stigma around women not receiving CPR compared to men," Isobel said.

"There's a 28% difference between the two receiving the treatment, and that's largely because people not wanting to expose the chests and have to deal with that.

"We just want to assure people through this that by doing CPR you are playing a huge role in saving that person's life, and they shouldn't be scared about doing it."

The event is due to finish at 9am on Friday morning at the campus.

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