Glastonbury Festival-goers learning CPR from Dorset air ambulance crew
Our local Air Ambulance will be training people in life saving skills
Festival-goers at this year's Glastonbury are being shown how to do CPR and use a defibrillator.
As the festival’s local air ambulance service, the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance could also be called to attend emergencies at the event.
Whilst on site, the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance team will be working alongside South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust and Resuscitation Council UK to help 'Save Lives Together'.
A spokesperson said: "The collaboration hopes to improve the confidence of festival goers to act in an emergency, by learning how to perform CPR and use a defibrillator to help save someone’s life, should they suffer a cardiac arrest while at the festival or at home.
"An out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is the ultimate medical emergency and can happen to anyone, at any time. In the UK, around 200 people per day suffer an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest; currently, only 1 in 10 survive.
"Every minute without CPR and defibrillation reduces a person’s chances of survival by around 10% and the risk of permanent brain damage increases.
Ollie Zorab, Specialist Practitioner in Critical Care, added: “Glastonbury Festival is a unique opportunity to try something new, this could be a new genre of music or life-saving skills such as how to perform CPR.
"'Saving Lives Together' at Glastonbury is an exciting collaboration which could save lives by giving everyone at the festival the opportunity to learn essential life support skills. RCUK’s award-winning online training can then be used to improve your confidence to save the life of a friend or family member at home.”
James Cant, CEO at Resuscitation Council UK said: “When somebody goes into cardiac arrest they are clinically dead, and bystanders need to act quickly and confidently to give them the best chance of survival.
"This is why it’s crucial that as many people as possible learn the very basics of CPR and take the lifesaver training – your two hands could help save a life."
For advice visit www.lifesaver.org.uk