Sir Oliver Heald MP attended a reception by the British Heart Foundation in Parliament to highlight the importance of knowing how to perform CPR. Only one-in-ten people survive an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, but a good knowledge of the CPR procedure helps a victim’s chances enormously.

The Foundation was demonstrating a new, cheap, simple, and light piece of equipment which can train someone in CPR in 30 minutes. This piece of equipment is being offered to all secondary schools in the UK free of charge, and Sir Oliver is writing to the schools in his constituency, urging them to do so.

Commenting, Sir Oliver said, ‘A working knowledge of CPR is very important, as the survival chances of a cardiac arrest victim outside hospital are low. I am delighted that the British Heart Foundation is working to teach schoolchildren this simple procedure, and the equipment that they have developed is impressive in its simplicity and ease-of-use. I am happy to put my support towards increasing the public’s awareness of CPR.’