Free life-saving first aid training from St John Ambulance in Hampshire this month

People in Hampshire can attend free training at the following locations during the campaign:

• 7 September – 10am-3pm - Furlong Shopping Centre, Ringwood BH24 1AT
• 8 September – 10am-3pm - Furlong Shopping Centre, Ringwood BH24 1AT
• 16 September – 7.30pm-9pm – St John Ambulance HQ, Fairfield House, 47-51 Kingston Crescent, Portsmouth PO2 8AA
• 18 September – 7.30pm-9pm - St John Ambulance HQ, Unit 32, Barwell Lane, Gosport PO13 0EQ
• 19 September – 10.30am-12pm and 2pm-3.30pm, Stansted Park, Rowlands Castle PO9 6DX
• 23 September – 7.30pm-9pm – St John Ambulance HQ, Fairfield House, 47-51 Kingston Crescent, Portsmouth PO2 8AA
• 30 September – 7.30pm-9pm – St John Ambulance HQ, Fairfield House, 47-51 Kingston Crescent, Portsmouth PO2 8AA.

The Save a Life September campaign is rolling out on the back of some new research* by the health charity which showed that only four in 10 (43%) people would know how to do CPR to save someone in cardiac arrest and less than a third (32%) would know how to use a defibrillator.

The research also found that fewer than half of the population (44%) know how to give basic back blows to someone choking, while fewer than four in 10 (38%) people said they would know how to treat a serious bleed from an injury or wound.

With more than a quarter surveyed (26%) saying they had never learned any first aid, the top three first aid skills respondents wanted to learn were CPR, choking and severe bleeds.

St John has adapted its free community first aid sessions throughout September to tech these techniques via demonstrations in public places around the country during September, through online sessions and by giving away free first aid pocket guides. The charity hopes to reach 50,000 people through these methods.

St John Ambulance head of community education, Carl Makins, said: “This September we plan to show thousands of members of the public how to save lives, focusing on the first aid that they most want to learn. Tragically, due to the rise in knife crime, it feels particularly relevant to be teaching people how to treat severe blood loss.

“It’s vital more of us within our communities know how to respond to the life-threatening situations which many of us will sadly face in our lives.

“There are nearly 300 deaths a year due to choking, yet more than half of us don’t know how to give back blows to clear someone’s airway. We also know that giving CPR and using a defibrillator can more than double someone’s chance of survival. It’s so often those quick actions taken by people who find themselves first on scene in the critical minutes before an ambulance arrives, that make the difference between life and death.”

For more information about Save a Life September demonstrations and guides, people can visit bit.ly/savealifeseptember.