Scottish school pupils could be trained in CPR

Pupils at schools in a Scottish city could be set to become real lifesavers.

Aberdeen City Council is to work with the British Heart Foundation (BHF) to bring forward proposals to introduce CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) training in secondary schools.

The charity is bidding to improve cardiac arrest survival rates by supporting the roll-out of sessions in Scottish schools.

Aberdeen pledged its backing at a meeting of the City Growth and Resources Committee yesterday (June 19), where it was also agreed the local authority will work with the Scottish Ambulance Service to update its national register with details of defibrillators situated on Council premises.

Initial funding of £5000 from Aberdeen’s Common Good Fund was also approved to progress the plans.

Councillor Douglas Lumsden, co-leader of Aberdeen City Council and convener of the City Growth and Resources Committee, said: ‘I left school having learned many things – but unfortunately how to save a life was not one of them. It is vital pupils are given the opportunity to be trained in CPR and I’m pleased we are in a position to act.

‘The British Heart Foundation has made a very compelling case and the benefits of teaching CRP in Aberdeen’s schools are clear. We will work closely with the foundation and with the ambulance service to take the steps that have been identified.’

At present only one in 20 people survive an out of hospital cardiac arrest in Scotland.

In Denmark, after the introduction of compulsory CPR training in schools, that statistic improved to one in four.