Schools in
the UK will teach students CPR and basic first aid from 2020.
In the UK
around 30,000 people a year go into cardiac arrest outside of hospital and of
those fewer than 10 percent survive, Sky News reports.
However,
studies have shown that in countries where children are taught CPR in schools,
those survival rates double.
Many adults
complain that the things they learned at school - algebra, wives of Henry VIII
and the elements of the periodic table - aren't particularly useful in 'real
life' and argue that kids should be equipped with more practical information.
Well, it
doesn't get much more useful than learning CPR and basic life-saving skills,
does it?
The move has
been welcomed by the British Heart Foundation, which said it was a 'decisive
moment in the battle to improve cardiac arrest survival rates'.
Education
Secretary Damian Hinds said: "Learning the basic skills of first aid and
techniques like CPR will give young people the confidence to know that they can
step in to help someone else in need and in the most extreme cases - it could
potentially save a life.
"That's
why we took the decision to include health education alongside relationship
education for primary school children and relationship and sex education for
secondary children.
"These
subjects are a crucial part of our work to ensure children learn the wider
skills they need to flourish in the modern world."
The aim is
to ensure that by the time they leave school all pupils will be able to carry
out CPR, provide basic treatments for common injuries and know the purpose of a
defibrillator.
Speaking
about the plans, Simon Gillespie, chief executive of the British Heart
Foundation, said: "The DfE's plans are a decisive moment in the battle to
improve cardiac arrest survival rates, following years of campaigning by the
BHF and others.
"Introducing
CPR lessons into health education in all state-funded secondary schools is a
significant step that promises to improve the odds of survival for countless
people who have a cardiac arrest in the future."
The
government has said it will become compulsory for schools to teach by 2020 but
is offering support for any schools that want to sign up this year.
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Image Credit: PA
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