FREE life-saving training will soon be available to Malvern residents thanks to collaboration between a local supermarket and charity.
Morrisons in Malvern Retail Park has teamed up with Heartstart Malvern to allow the charity to provide their life-saving training to supermarket customers and the wider community.
The first of the free 90-minute training sessions will be held on January 25 at 7pm with attendees learning how to do CPR (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation) and how to use a defibrillator.
The training is practical and no prior first aid knowledge is needed. Heartstart Malvern have also provided the store with a defibrillator, located outside, which can be accessed by any member of the public in an emergency.
Heartstart Malvern’s chairman, Richard Vakis-Lowe said: “With over 80% of cardiac arrests happening at home, the successful resuscitation of this gentleman demonstrates how important it is for everyone to know how to do CPR and to use a defibrillator.
“If a bystander does not start CPR within three minutes of a person collapsing from a cardiac arrest they will not survive.”
Morrisons community champion, Anthony Hornby said the supermarket did not hesitate to offer the charity access to their facilities, after an incident with a customer in June 2022 showed them the importance of first aid training.
A gentleman suffered a cardiac arrest in the supermarket cafe and was successfully resuscitated by staff, making a full recovery.
Antony Hornby added: “We hope that by offering the training in our store that more lives can be saved.”
Heartstart expressed their gratitude towards Morrisons for allowing them to set up a base for their sessions.
Richard Vakis-Lowe added: “”This will help make our training more accessible to the local community.
“We hope that as many people as possible will book a place on one of our courses.”
Booking for the sessions is essential and can be done through the Heartstart Malvern website (www.heartstartmalvern.org.uk) or by calling 07926 615812.
