More than 50 professional rugby players were taught vital lifesaving skills in a session hosted by crews and volunteers from Great Western Air Ambulance Charity.
The session, which took place in the Bristol Bears' High Performance Centre in Abbots Leigh, saw critical care doctors and specialist paramedics from the air ambulance crew, along with a number of volunteers from the charity’s Great Western Heartstarters programme, train the players in performing effective CPR and first aid in the event of a cardiac arrest.
The Bristol Bears players were shown what to do in the event of a medical emergency, and then taught how to perform effective CPR in the event of a cardiac arrest using manikins provided by the air ambulance charity.
Director of rugby at Bristol Bears, Pat Lam, said: “A huge thank you to Great Western Air Ambulance Charity for taking the time to come and teach our staff and players crucial lifesaving skills.
"We saw during Euro 2020 and Christian Eriksen's cardiac arrest on the pitch the importance of knowing how to perform effective CPR and first aid in the event of a cardiac arrest and everyone will have benefitted hugely from the day.”
Great Western Air Ambulance Charity runs its own training programme, Great Western Heartstarters, which sees a number of local healthcare professionals volunteer to teach lifesaving skills to school pupils North Somerset.
Critical care doctor Rich Jeavons from the air ambulance charity, said: “It’s been such a great opportunity to come along and teach the team these skills. It was vital for the charity to provide this training in the local community.
"We’re honoured to be a part of it and really pleased to see a local high profile sports team train in such important skills – we hope if they’re ever needed, that they can feel confident in providing this crucial first aid.”
The Great Western Air Ambulance Charity crew are called out to more than five incidents a day on average, with more than a third of these often being in the event of someone suffering a cardiac arrest.
For more information, log on to www.gwaac.com or contact info@gwaac.com
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