Essex & Herts Air Ambulance (EHAAT) took part in National Restart a Heart Day on Wednesday, 16th October, by offering free CPR training at London Stansted Airport. Held in the airside shopping area, the event aimed to equip travellers with crucial life-saving skills, including chest compressions and the use of an Automated External Defibrillator (AED). The global initiative, led by the Resuscitation Council, strives to improve survival rates for out-of-hospital cardiac arrests.
EHAAT’s critical care paramedics, pre-hospital care doctors, charity staff, and volunteers were present from 7 am to 7 pm, providing hands-on training to passengers as they waited for their flights. The sessions aimed to empower individuals to act swiftly and effectively during a cardiac emergency.
“Restart a Heart Day is all about empowering as many people as possible to take action in an emergency. Our goal was to ensure that more people feel confident and prepared to help if someone experiences a cardiac arrest,” said Adam Carr, EHAAT’s Clinical Community Lead and a critical care paramedic. “We were thrilled to bring this crucial training to the many travellers passing through the airport today.”
Anita Harrison, Customer Operations Director at London Stansted, expressed her support: “We were delighted to support Essex & Herts Air Ambulance for their event at London Stansted to mark National Restart a Heart Day. Our commitment to passenger safety is of utmost importance, and by supporting EHAAT and raising awareness about CPR, we hope to make a significant impact in saving lives.”
She added, “Airports are bustling places, and it is vital to have individuals trained to respond quickly to medical emergencies. Our customer service team serves as our first responders in the terminal, but it is important to note that learning CPR is very simple and only takes a few minutes.”
Restart a Heart Day is a global effort to increase awareness about cardiac arrests and train more people in CPR and defibrillation. With around 35,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occurring annually in the UK, widespread CPR knowledge is vital. EHAAT’s training sessions at Stansted Airport contributed to building a community of responders ready to act in an emergency.