Around 40,000 youngster in Lothian are set to be taught CPR in the classroom before they leave school, with over 6,800 pupils being taught every year, thanks to a national campaign by British Heart Foundation (BHF) Scotland.
MSPs yesterday debated the commitment of every local authority in Scotland to training all secondary school pupils in CPR skills.
The Nation of Lifesavers campaign aims to ensure every pupil is trained in the vital skills before they leave secondary school and has been praised by international experts and medical professionals, who believe it could save thousands of additional lives.
BHF Scotland launched the campaign in 2018, urging local councils to work with them to provide the training.
There are around 3,500 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in Scotland each year and for every minute without CPR, the chances of surviving drop by up to ten per cent.
The campaign could have a significant impact on Scotland’s poor survival rate from out-of-hospital cardiac arrests, where currently only one in twelve people survive.
In Denmark, which legislated for all secondary pupils to learn CPR, survival rates for out-of-hospital cardiac arrests have tripled in recent years.
Lothian MSP, Miles Briggs, said: “This debate is an opportunity to thank and congratulate the British Heart Foundation Scotland on their successful campaign, which has also recently been shortlisted as a finalist in the 2019 Scottish Charity Awards.
“It is thanks to the commitment from Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian and West Lothian Council, that over 6,800 young people across Lothian will now be empowered to step in and perform potentially lifesaving CPR, with the knowledge and skills to keep themselves and other people safe.
“We should all be rightly proud that Scotland can and will become a Nation of Lifesavers and I hope have the highest number of citizens in the world equipped to save a life.”
Daniel Jones, Policy and Public Affairs Officer, BHF Scotland said: “BHF Scotland are very grateful to Miles Briggs MSP for tabling this Member’s Debate, and through it, highlighting the success of our Nation of Lifesavers campaign, which has seen us gain a commitment in under a year from each of Scotland’s 32 local authorities to train every secondary pupil in life-saving CPR before they leave school.
“We are delighted that councils from the Lothian region and all across the country engaged with us so positively, with a determination to help improve survival rates from out-of-hospital cardiac arrests.”
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