CPR skills training is expanded in the West Midlands

The cash boost will support a two-year project, providing essential training to members of the public in areas of the West Midlands with poorer rates or survival from an out of hospital cardiac arrest.

WMAS is one of ten NHS ambulance charities in the UK to receive funding from NHS Charities Together.

This is intended to equip more people with the skills to respond in emergency situations.

Cliff Medlicott, WMAS regional community response manager, said: “We are incredibly grateful to NHS Charities Together for their support and funding.

“Their support is helping us bring vital training to communities that need it most.”

Such training is crucial, considering fewer than one in ten individuals who suffer a cardiac arrest outside of hospital return home.

However, swift action involving early identification, CPR and defibrillation can raise survival chances to over five in ten (50 per cent).

The initiative is expected to reduce pressure on the NHS by equipping people to respond effectively in emergencies or even prevent them.

Jon Goodwin, head of grants at NHS Charities Together, said: “The project has the potential to make a huge difference to people living in the West Midlands.”