Communities across the South West are being invited to learn CPR and defibrillator skills.
The South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust is offering free awareness sessions designed to help more people recognise cardiac arrest and respond before emergency crews arrive.
The training will be delivered by Community Training Volunteers and can be requested by local groups so sessions can take place in towns, villages and neighbourhoods across the region.
Organisers say the workshops are practical and hands on, allowing participants to practise CPR, use training defibrillators and ask questions in a supportive environment.
In the UK only around 1 in 10 people survive an out of hospital cardiac arrest, but survival rates can increase significantly if CPR and a defibrillator are used within the first few minutes.
The ambulance service says around 38% of UK adults have never received CPR training.
Hannah Butler said early action is crucial and teaching more people these skills can “dramatically improve someone’s chance of survival”.
