We need compulsory Hearstart training for 11-13 year-olds (and more)

Last December, 51 year-old Brian Griffin fell down a flight of stairs at his home in Gillingham, suffering fatal injuries.

Fatal because there was no-one around to help him? No, fatal because it was simply a tragic incident – he had his seven year-old grandaughter with him, dialling 999 and trying to make him comfortable.

Teah Smith is clearly a remarkable young girl, thoroughly deserving of the bravery certificate she was presented last Thursday evening by South East Coast Ambulance Trust, and her grandparents, having taught her how to deal with such an incident should it happen, deserve credit as well.

What this goes to highlight as well, however, is that for every Teah Smith there are possibly dozens of young people, aged anywhere between five and 14 or older, who would be clueless as to what to do in such a situation.

Last month, through Cadets, I qualified as a Heartstart Instructor (I should probably point out at this juncture that I am writing this post in a personal capacity, and my opinions don’t necessarily reflect those of the BHF). Heartstart UK is an initiative co-ordinated by the British Heart Foundation to teach members of the public what to do in a life-threatening emergency: simple skills that can save lives.

It provides opportunities for people to learn the vital skills of Emergency Life Support. Through Heartstart UK the BHF aims to strengthen the chain of survival by promoting and supporting ELS training in the community. The benefit of CPR performed by a bystander in an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is significant.

In the days after my first aid course (at which I certified as a Heartstart Instructor and became First Aid at Work qualified), I was having lunch with a couple of mates from school at McDonald’s, discussing my course. Suddenly, I pondered aloud “I think Heartstart should be compulsory for all secondary school students” and the first thing that came out of my mate’s mouth was simply “I agree”.

Then I got thinking some more, but sat on my thoughts, adding them to my virtual “to do” pile. That was until I read the above referenced article in today’s Yourmedway. Suddenly I got thinking about it all again and decided I would investigate a little more, consider how such a scheme could viably operate and then post my thoughts on this blog. So here goes.

Heartstart UK schools provides ELS training for pupils as part of their curriculum. However, the curriculum states that students should receive first aid training as part of their PSHE lessons, and is very vague about details. The BHF is not always involved. Heartstart UK schools can be taught to children of ten years and over, and I would recommend it be taught to every secondary school student, compulsorily, before they reached the end of their second year (Year 8).

By way of a refresher, they could then be taught through the course again in their last year (Year 11) to ensure that they leave school with the skills still firmly impressed in their mind. First aid is mainly common sense, however ELS is vital. Get it right and you could save someone’s life, get it wrong and you could take it. Being taught the full course twice would ensure that the skills are not forgotten.

So that covers everyone from the age of 11. But what of those younger students? Well, the BHF also offers Hearstart UK schools as a staged programme starting with children as young as four or five years of age. This can teach them such vital skills as making a 999 call – such as that which Teah Smith made last December.

But such a sudden increase in demand would put pressure on the BHF’s resources, which, as a charity, are reliant on donations. How could such a move be taken without redirecting too many resources from the rest of the BHF’s teaching capacity? Well, the government could invest a certain amount of money per student per course; and to ensure that enough instructors/assessors could be found, a certain amount of teachers per school would be put forward to train as Heartstart Instructors.

ELS cannot be underestimated. Performing CPR buys time and more than doubles the chances of survival. I believe that it is imperative we ensure our students get the best quality teaching to learn these vital skills so, should the need arise, more lives can be saved.