Our Impact News CPR and defibrillator awareness across Dorset and Somerset This Heart Month, Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance are going all out to showcase the incredible work we’ve been doing to help keep hearts beating. So far this February, we have shared with you how DSAA is making a difference, how you can be part of the solution, and just why this knowledge is so vital. If you’re signed up to our e-newsletter, we also shared the importance of bystander CPR and defibrillation in the ‘chain of survival’. Now, we’re back again to give you an insight into what’s been happening on the ground with DSAA. Our volunteers have been busy delivering CPR and Defibrillator Awareness Sessions across both counties. To date, over 200 people in Somerset and nearing 500 in Dorset have engaged with this activity! Our team have travelled far and wide: they’ve visited schools, parish councils, taekwondo clubs and women’s institutes; sessions have been delivered to Girl Guides and we even set up shop in Clarkes Village to offer training to the public! Volunteer John Bizzell has led many sessions throughout Dorset since we began our Life Support program, and just this week delivered a session to a group of our own volunteers. Bystander CPR can double the chance of survival. Thanks to our Life Support initiative and dedicated volunteers, over 700 people (and counting) are now equipped with the life-saving skills and knowledge needed to act in an emergency. Don’t you feel safer already? To join in and be a lifesaver, click the link below. REGISTER YOUR INTEREST IN A CPR SESSION What’s going on with DSAA’s defibrillators? We have been very busy helping groups and organisations place these life-saving devices in their community. So far, we have placed five DSAA branded defibrillator units out and about - and we have big plans to keep this going: our goal is to reach 25 this year! Ollie Zorab, DSAA Specialist Practitioner in Critical Care explains a bit more: "DSAA responds to around 600 patients each year experiencing a cardiac arrest in the community, with patients who receive CPR and treatment from a defibrillator before the arrival of an emergency ambulance significantly more likely to survive. As an organisation with a mission to save and improve lives, we are committed to improving care for our cardiac arrest patients through the delivery of pre-hospital critical care and by empowering bystanders to act in the crucial few seconds following a collapse. Our Life Support program aims to increase survival by helping individuals in our community have access to life-saving CPR sessions and support to fund and install a defibrillator so that everyone in need can receive excellent care following a cardiac arrest." Register your interest in our defibrillator package This year DSAA will continue our work rolling out CPR and Defibrillator Awareness Sessions, supporting defibrillator placements in communities and, as always, saving lives. Thank you for joining us this Heart Month! Manage Cookie Preferences