The first session takes place on Saturday, 12 October, and is part of Restart a Heart Day - the annual worldwide campaign which strives to raise awareness of cardiac arrests and increase the number of people trained in CPR.
Last year student volunteers from CPR in Society (CPRiS), led by students in the University of Bristol Medical School, were successful in training 309 members of the public in resuscitation; trainees included Scout and Guide groups, schools and community groups.
Fifth-year University of Bristol medical student, Abby Wells said: “At CPRiS, we are really passionate about what we do, and we believe that everyone should have access to free basic life support awareness training.
“This year we are expanding our reach, aiming to teach over 600 members of the community CPR at three local events. These sessions will allow members of the public to learn how to perform CPR and how to use a defibrillator. Everyone is welcome so why not come down to try out your CPR skills or just for a chat.”
This year the team will be hosting three CPR training events over three days, which will be held on:
- Saturday 12 October from 9am to 5pm in both the Galleries and Cabot Circus shopping centres.
- Wednesday 16 October from 9am to 5pm on College Green in collaboration with the Southwest Ambulance Service.
- Saturday 19 October from 9am to 5pm in Cabot Circus in collaboration with Infinite training solutions, run by a former paramedic.
Founded by the European Resuscitation Council, Restart a Heart Day brings together organisations from across the globe to equip the public with vital life-saving skills to improve the chances of people surviving out-of-hospital cardiac arrests.
Restart a Heart Day 2018 was a huge success nationally, with 238,793 people in the UK attending training and this year, the students hope to help exceed this number.