Community Stephen Morgan MP thanks St John Ambulance for providing lifesaving first aid services in Portsmouth By Ian Groves Contributor Comment Published 24th Sep 2024, 16:31 BST Watch more of our videos on ShotsTV.com and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565 Visit Shots! now In September, Minister for Early Education Stephen Morgan MP visited St John Ambulance volunteers in Portsmouth to discuss their lifesaving work to put community first aid at the heart of every community to improve health outcomes and save lives. Stephen visited the first aid charity’s Portsmouth unit to discuss the role of local volunteers in the community, the first aid services they provide and opportunities to support the unit’s lifesaving work as it celebrates over 125 years of service to the city of Portsmouth.
During his visit, volunteers provided an overview of St John's operations in the city and discussed the unit’s work to enhance first aid resilience. Volunteers delivered a demonstration of a full resuscitation scenario and training on using a defibrillator. Today in the UK, 30,000 people experience an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) every year, yet less than 1 in 10 people survive.
To improve survival rates, St John Ambulance has launched its "Save a Life September" campaign which aims to train over 50,000 members of the public in lifesaving first aid skills which can more than double the chances of survival. A session is taking place in Portsmouth on 30 September, 7.30pm-9pm, at the S.