St John Ambulance Cymru urges people of Wales to have first aid skills ‘just in case’ in new campaign

You can view the campaign video by visiting our Youtube channel: https://youtu.be/FvgePy-3NSU

St John Ambulance Cymru urges people of Wales to have first aid skills ‘just in case’ in new campaign

St John Ambulance Cymru has launched a new campaign to illustrate the importance of first aid skills ‘just in case’ an emergency happens.

Through the campaign, the charity is urging the people of Wales to donate, volunteer or learn life-saving skills to support its mission of making first aid for everyone – anytime, anywhere.

As the first aid charity for Wales, St John Ambulance Cymru relies on volunteers giving up their time and donations from the people of Wales to carry out its lifesaving work.

With the charity’s volunteers donating over 60,000 hours each year to provide first aid cover for over 1,400 large and community led events across Wales, including the Principality Stadium’s raft of recent concerts, the ‘just in case’ campaign is a stark reminder that the charity is always there to keep the people of Wales safe, should an emergency happen.

As almost a million adults in Wales have not learnt CPR and 80% of cardiac arrests take place at home, the campaign also encourages the people of Wales to learn lifesaving first aid skills, either through a workplace training course or community training event.

Learning CPR with St John Ambulance Cymru can be the difference between a life lost and a life saved as 60-year-old Elaine Cooper from Treherbert is testament to, after saving her husband’s life using CPR just two days after completing a first aid course.

“I wouldn’t have been able to do it without the first aid skills I learnt” Elaine said, “I was sceptical about doing the first aid course and I was thinking about missing it, but I’m so thankful I did attend now. The whole experience was so scary, I never thought I’d have to do CPR on anyone, let alone a member of my family.”

While St John Ambulance Cymru is known for providing first aid treatment and training, it also provides ambulance transport, making over 28,000 patient journeys each year, and runs programmes for children and young people from the age of 5, helping to train the next generation of life savers.

One such young person is nine-year old Harley Metz, a member of St John Ambulance Cymru’s Aberdare and Foundry Town Badger programme, who saved his mother’s life when she suffered a diabetic coma at home.

His mum Dana Metz said: “First aid is extremely important for kids to learn, because look what happened. If Harley didn’t go to Badgers he wouldn’t have the knowledge he has. He has been a Badger for a few years now and he absolutely loves it.”

Nichola Couceiro, Head of Communications, Fundraising & Engagement at St John Ambulance Cymru, said: “We’re delighted to launch our new campaign to remind the people of Wales that St John Ambulance Cymru is there ‘just in case’ there is an emergency. First aid saves lives so the work we do is crucial in keeping the people of Wales safe.

“As a charity, we rely on volunteers, workplace courses, fundraising and donations to keep communities in Wales safe ‘just in case’ they need our support and would encourage the people of Wales to visit our website to find out more.”

To find out more visit www.sjacymru.org.uk