Teaching Basic First Aid in Schools

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:40 pm on 14 January 2020.

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Photo of Janet Finch-Saunders Janet Finch-Saunders Conservative 1:40, 14 January 2020

According to St John Cymru, less than one in 10 people survive an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, and nearly a third of UK adults would not have the confidence to intervene if they saw someone in need. Now, improved education of our youngsters is definitely the answer to this cardiac catastrophe. Children in England will be taught CPR and other lifesaving skills from September 2020, and every local authority in Scotland has committed to teaching CPR. The new curriculum, however, does not make the teaching of first aid and lifesaving skills compulsory, yet, according to the British Heart Foundation, nearly one in four could survive if all young people were trained. I appreciate that the Minister for Education wants to move away from prescribed subjects, however will you allow an exception by making CPR training a compulsory part of the new curriculum?