Sadiq Khan was given a training course by medics from the London Ambulance Service
(Picture: City Hall)Sadiq Khan urged Londoners to help “save lives” by learning first-aid skills as he joined London Ambulance Service (LAS) medics for a training session on CPR and defibrillation.
The Mayor said that knowledge of first aid could be “a matter of life and death” as he learnt how to perform basic life support, use a defibrillator and put an unconscious patient in the recovery position.
It comes as part of the Lifesavers Initiative launched by the LAS to equip at least 100,000 Londoners with the knowledge and confidence to act in an emergency situation until ambulance crews arrive at a scene. Over 2,000 lifesavers have been trained since September last year, with the LAS set to scale up the campaign further in the coming months.
The LAS estimate that more than 100 lives every year could be saved if it reaches its target. So far this year, medics have responded to 9,500 cardiac arrests in the capital.
Mr Khan and City Hall colleagues were joined by Community Resuscitation Trainer Victoria Geary and Community Defibrillation Manager Samantha Wilcox for the two-and-a-half hour training session, during which they learnt the symptoms of a cardiac arrest and how to respond in an emergency situation.
Speaking to the Standard after getting up to speed with lifesaving skills, he said that the training was “all about instilling confidence” and that this “could be the difference between life and death”.
“Ambulances can take a few minutes to arrive at best and having these skills means you can make sure the heart is pumping and the brain isn’t being starved of oxygen.
“As someone who has just been trained I’d say the kit is genuinely idiot-proof. If I can use it then anyone can.
“We’re a city of nearly ten million people with a host of different health issues – three hours of your time is nothing and it is great team building.”
Mr Khan also called on businesses, schools and community centres to install defibrillators in their buildings.
“We’ve spoken to practitioners who have told us how much of a difference it has made. You could save your partner or child’s life by knowing how to use this equipment.”
LAS Community Defibrillation Manager Samantha Wilcox encouraged Londoners to “follow in the Mayor’s footsteps” and sign up to be a lifesaver.
“For every minute that goes by without life-saving intervention like CPR and defibrillation, the chances of a person surviving cardiac arrest decrease by 10 per cent,” she said.
