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A Nation of Lifesavers at the Heart of Midshire
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On Friday 23rd March, and 6th November 2018. National managed print service provider Midshire® worked with the British Heart Foundation to roll out six Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) training sessions for its employees in Stockport and West Bromwich.
Founded in 1961 when UK cardiovascular deaths reached a staggering 300,000 per year, the British Heart Foundation currently supports 1,700 CPR training schemes nationwide, offering packages to communities, corporations, and schools.
Natalie Bunyan, Fundraising Manager at the British Heart Foundation talks about the importance of CPR training: “For many people in a panic situation it can be hard to know where to begin if someone needs emergency assistance.”
Over 30,000 people experience cardiac arrest each year in the UK outside the relative safety of a hospital, and unfortunately only 1 in 10 survive.
Natalie continues: “Our schemes teach people to recognise when someone is experiencing a heart attack or cardiac arrest, what CPR is and how to do it, and how to help someone that is unconscious or choking. Our short-term goal is to create a nation of lifesavers by 2020.”
The Foundation has been integral in many heart-related medical breakthroughs, including the production of statins, funding pioneering surgery on babies with heart defects, and research into hereditary heart diseases.
Operations Manager at Midshire, Debbie Wilson says: “At Midshire we try and promote a healthy lifestyle
for all of our employees. Being able to perform CPR is a vital skill to have, particularly for those with children or elderly relatives.”
Having already launched a weekly fresh fruit initiative last year with partner company Fruidel, and working closely with not-for-profit customer Life Leisure to deliver a fitness scheme to staff, Midshire is proud to provide its employees with opportunities for wellness education, healthy eating, and active living.
Midshire’s workforce regularly takes part in physically demanding fundraisers, with the Great Manchester Run planned on 20th May 2018 to raise money for the British Heart Foundation and fund its very own office defibrillator.
The charity also provides CPR training kits, complete with reusable inflatable manikins, kneeling mats, red inflation bags, inflation pumps, training DVD’s, cleaning wipes, and replacement faces for manikins.
To find out more about CPR, or to watch comprehensive training videos, visit the Foundation’s website here: https://www.bhf.org.uk
