Soldiers give life-saving CPR advice to Sheffield shoppers at Meadowhall

On Friday and over the weekend, organisations including the British Heart Foundation, British Army, Yorkshire Air Ambulance and South Yorkshire Police came together to urge the public to learn about live-saving CPR.

Event organiser Major Kate Hannaford said: “I think it’s a vital life skill that can save lives of family, friends colleague, so it’s a really, really valuable skill for everyone to have.

“I wanted to put on an event that raised awareness and that linked in with lots of different other organisations to raise awareness of CPR. We’ve got some great soldiers that practice and train people in CPR skills so it’s great to just share that training for everyone, and make sure that everyone is safer.”

Andrew Smith, an external service supervisor at Meadowhall, who once had to perform emergency first aid at the centre, said: “I think it’s absolutely fantastic that the army are on-site today and projecting it to the wider community, because you can never have too many first-aiders, that goes without saying. Whether you use it in the workplace, at home or anywhere, it’s good having some sort of help.”

In-depth 15-minute classes, given by British Army medical staff, were available for people to sign up to during their Meadowhall visits.

Several stores also signed their staff up to the classes, including Hamleys toy store.

Charlie Smart, a South Yorkshire Police constable, spent his day rallying onlookers to join in and learn how to administer CPR.

He said: “CPR is everyone important for a lot of reasons. If you’re the first person seeing someone that’s unconscious and not breathing, it’s a matter of life and death really. Early CPR is better than none. Even if you’re not trained, this is the idea behind today, so you can train with all sorts of people.”

Soldiers of Swing, who performed on Series 14 of Britain’s Got Talent, were also at the event to entertain shoppers.

201 (Northern) Field Hospital, an Army Reserve unit based in Newcastle, delivered the CPR lessons.