Have you heard about our partnership with Nationwide Building Society?
St John Ambulance and Nationwide Building Society are partnering to create safer high streets. Nationwide will be rolling out the installation of public access defibrillators and bleed control kits across all 605 of its UK branches, including those in Wales. As part of the campaign, St John Ambulance Cymru will offer first aid skills training to Nationwide colleagues across all 41 branches in Wales.
TV’s Ross Kemp has added his support to the campaign to help promote its message.
So why are Nationwide and St John Ambulance doing this?
The campaign comes as research conducted by Nationwide revealed that fewer than one in five Britons feel very confident stopping a severe bleed (18%) or using a defibrillator (19%).
Meanwhile, just one in four (24%) feel very confident carrying out CPR.
Alongside this lack of confidence, there is strong public support for greater access to lifesaving equipment, with 87% of people saying they would feel safer knowing equipment was available locally.
The findings are particularly concerning given that severe bleeding and cardiac arrest can become fatal within minutes. Fewer than one in ten people survive an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in the UK, yet survival rates can increase to as much as 70% when a defibrillator is used within three to five minutes.
These statistics highlight the importance of improving access to defibrillators and helping people develop confidence in first aid.
What the campaign involves
- In each branch, one St John Ambulance AED and PAcT kit will be visible and clearly signposted
- Two Branch Champions will complete a three hour, hands-on first aid course to enable them to lead the initial first aid response.
- In the event of an emergency, they will recognise what is happening, start CPR and use the AED within minutes, while a teammate calls 999.
- Wider colleagues will complete a short digital first aid module, so everyone knows the plan, the kit location and how to support.
- Local St John Ambulance volunteers will run regular community workshops in the branch, building confidence among customers and neighbouring retailers.
St John Ambulance Training Workshops
St John Ambulance volunteers will offer training to 4,000 Nationwide branch colleagues, before expanding into ‘Heart of Community’ workshops for local people.
These workshops will give participants the knowledge and confidence to carry out CPR, use defibrillators and treat severe bleeding in an emergency, and will be delivered in Nationwide branches.
In addition to these face-to-face workshops, around 27,000 Nationwide colleagues will have access to bespoke St John Ambulance produced online modules on defibrillator use, CPR, bleed control kit familiarisation, and responding to severe bleeds.
This partnership supports our vision of making Wales a community of lifesavers. We look forward to delivering these workshops.
