St John Ambulance empower communities to save lives.

News - 25 July 2023

You could save a life in your community. St. John Ambulance want to ensure that no one dies through lack of first aid provision. That’s why they have set up the CPR Community Network to ensure that everyone has access to basic life support training in person, online or by using their Resource Hub to give you the confidence to respond in an emergency.

The CPR Community Network is a partnership between St John Ambulance and the NHS, supported by the Association for Ambulance Chief Executives (AACE), who represent Ambulance Trusts, British Heart Foundation (BHF) and Resuscitation Council UK (RCUK). In an emergency, every second counts and having members of the community trained in first aid techniques really can be life saving.

The main aim of the CPR Community Network is to increase out of hospital cardiac arrest survival (OHCA) rates in England to support one of the main objectives in the NHS’s Long Term Plan. In plain English, this means the CPR Community Network wants to ensure that no one dies through lack of Emergency First Aid provision or resources, in their local area and in their community.

St John Ambulance have released the latest in a number of resources aimed at empowering communities and increasing their ability to respond and give basic life support (carry out a primary survey, give effective CPR, contact emergency help and use an AED) to increase a casualty’s chance of survival.

As part of this work they have released a British Sign Language (BSL) Emergency First Aid film, to create a powerful resource so that Deaf people know what to do if they find someone in cardiac arrest.

St. John Ambulnace also worked in collaboration with 999BSL, the Ofcom registered Emergency Video Relay Service (VRS) that connect a Deaf person to emergency services via a British Sign Language interpreter.

First Aid Awareness

Do you want to become more resilient, confident and knowledgeable, to be able to treat another person with basic first aid in your community?

Each month, St. John Ambulance host a free virtual first aid awareness session, where attendees learn:

Patient care and communication
Observations
Primary survey
Making an emergency call
Recovery position
Signs of Heart Attack vs Cardiac Arrest
CPR
Choking
Severe bleeds
Using an AED
Using the right medical service

Contact: community.engagement@sja.org.uk to learn more and book your place.

Visit the CPR Community Network Resource Hub for more First Aid videos, including British Sign Language resources: CPR Community Network

For more information visit; St. Johns Ambulance

This video, with BSL, will teach you how to carry out a primary survey, how to contact emergency help using a video relay service (VRS), how to perform CPR and use an Automated External Defibrillator (AED).