Thousands take part in Newark Community First Aid and Advertiser Community Lifesaver campaign

A CAMPAIGN to train 10,000 people in key areas of first aid has reached nearly 4,000 people in its first 18 months.

Newark Community First Aid launched its Community Lifesaver campaign in conjunction with the Advertiser in August, 2017.

Its aim was to educate and train 10,000 people in the key area of first aid, particularly lifesaving skills.

Philip Jessop, Newark Community First Aid's training manager, (NCFA Training Manager) said “It is vital that everyone knows how to assess a collapsed person and how to administer life-saving first aid such as placing a person in the recovery position or performing resuscitation.

"Statistics from NHS England show that we, as a nation, have very poor survival rates when a person has a cardiac arrest (heart and breathing stop) compared with other European countries.

"The main reason for this is simply lack of training and our aim is to provide training so more lives can be saved”.

In the first year of the campaign 2,668 people received training on the charity’s free community courses.

Newark Community First Aid ran 142 courses in Newark and 29 surrounding villages. ­Some were open courses, others were provided to community groups, youth organisations and charities.

In the first six months of year two, the charity has trained another 1,082 people.

Mr Jessop said “We are now starting our next phase of free courses.

"We have contacted 62 parish councils in early January offering them the opportunity to host free courses in their village. We find that by providing easily accessible training close to people’s homes encourages more people to attend."

The organisation ahs already had interest from councils including Rolleston, Carlton- on-Trent, Kirklington, Balderton and Norton Disney and will soon announce dates for Newark courses.

Since the start of 2019 training has already been provided to local Scout and Guide leaders, the Flowerpod Project, which is part of the Reach Learning Disability charity in Southwell, Southwell Young Farmers' Club, and villagers in Stubton.

The charity would like to hear from any groups wanting training. For more information on courses visit Newark Community First Aid's Facebook.