Peterborough United is calling on its supporters to become lifesavers by learning CPR.
The club and the Posh Foundation in particular, are working with the British Heart Foundation (BHF) to encourage fans to use RevivR – a free online CPR training course developed by the charity.
In 15 minutes, the training tool teaches people how to recognise a cardiac arrest, gives feedback on chest compressions and outlines the correct steps for defibrillator use. The resource will be promoted to supporters attending matches and through the club’s social media.
Players and staff at the club will also learn the simple skills that can help save a life if someone experiences a cardiac arrest. In the UK, there are more than 30,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests each year, and people have a less than one-in-ten chance of surviving. Every minute without CPR and defibrillation decreases a person’s chances of survival by up to 10 per cent.
However, the BHF says that in parts of other countries where CPR is widely taught and public access defibrillators are more readily available, survival rates are up to three times higher than in the UK.
Gill Wignall, Chief Executive Officer of the Peterborough United Foundation, said: “Every year, thousands of lives are needlessly lost because people don’t have the CPR skills to act in a life-threatening situation.
“The sad truth is that you’re most likely to see a loved one suffer a cardiac arrest. But by making sure that more people know how to perform CPR and other life-saving skills, it will give someone the best possible chance of survival if the worst happens.”
Gary Atyes, Fundraising Manager for the BHF, said: “We are incredibly grateful to Peterborough United for helping to spread awareness and knowledge of these lifesaving skills.
“Tragically, we know that fewer than one-in-ten survive an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in this country – a statistic we are determined to change by giving everyone the opportunity to learn CPR. Our RevivR tool is an easy, quick and free way to learn from scratch or brush up your skills. All you need is 15 minutes, and it could teach you the skills needed to save a life.”
The BHF is also working to improve survival rates for out-of-hospital cardiac arrests via The Circuit: the national defibrillator network. Launched last year, The Circuit connects defibrillators to ambulance services across the UK, so they can be accessed immediately in the event of a cardiac arrest.
