STAFF at a Herefordshire company helped to save the life of their company director after learning vital skills with a British Heart Foundation course.
In December last year, Herefordshire Heartstart volunteers delivered the British Heart Foundation Heartstart course to staff at Border Oak, Kingsland.
Little did they know that only a few short weeks later, they would be using their new skills for real.
Early this year, John Greene, one of the directors at Border Oak, suffered a life threatening cardiac arrest.
Prompt action by staff using the skills learned on the Heartstart course, while waiting for the emergency services to arrive, ensured that John was given the best chance of survival.
Employee Ewa Michalczyk decided to turn this traumatic experience into a positive and ran Cardiff 10K on September 1 to raise funds for Herefordshire Heartstart.
She believes that everyone should have the opportunity to learn the essential lifesaving skills that contributed to the survival of her employer, who continues to make good progress on his recovery journey.
To date, Ewa has raised £2401.
Border Oak have also invested in a defibrillator that will be accessible to their employees and the community, meaning Kingsland residents now have access to two defibrillators.
Ewa’s money will be put to good use by Herefordshire Heartstart.
It will enable the small local charity to deliver further courses in the local communities within Herefordshire.
Less than 1 in 10 people survive an out of hospital cardiac arrest.
Bystander CPR doubles the likelihood of survival, and Herefordshire Heartstart are working hard to provide free courses in emergency lifesaving skills.
Herefordshire Heartstart is a voluntary organisation.
It receives no overnment or British Heart Foundation funding for our scheme, so every donation is hugely valuable.
To date, they have trained over 25,000 people in Herefordshire.
To find out more about Herefordshire Heartstart, contact Sarah at info@herefordshireheartstart.org or visit www.herefordshirehearststart.org
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