The Mayor of Farnham, Councillor John Ward has become the 700th person to be trained by Heartstart Farnham Lions to save a life.
The 2.5-hour course is run by volunteers and aims to provide participants with the skills and confidence they need to be able to act in an emergency. The course included vital skills such as how to recognise the signs of heart attack and administer cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), how to provide vital aid to an unconscious person, how to treat a serious bleed and what to do if someone is choking. The course also covered familiarisation with automated external defibrillators.
Commenting about the course, Councillor John Ward said: “It was a really well-run course. The training has given me confidence so that I now feel I could handle an emergency. I think everyone should go on one of these courses as you never know when you may need to save a life.”
Keith Aston who coordinates the scheme says: “It was a pleasure to welcome the Mayor to our course. Heartstart was formed five years ago with the intention of teaching emergency life support skills to as many Farnham residents as possible. It is run by volunteers and we all love what we do. It gives us immense pleasure to see how staggered people are by what they learn in the space of two hours. Our message is simple and that is don’t be a bystander, learn some simple skills as they could save a person’s life.”
Heartstart Farnham Lions courses are free to attend. The last courses of 2016 will be held on 2, 16 and 30 November at the St. John Ambulance Hall in Farnham. Dates for 2017 will be announced soon. To book, visit www.heartstartfarnhamlions.co.uk.
