The discussions set up by BelindaGuy to encourage people in Hedge End to get involved with St John Ambulance locally have generated a lot of comment.

I was therefore interested to hear on the news yesterday that the St John Ambulance organisation itself is launching a campaign to promote the learning of first aid skills. The charity says that up to 150,000 people a year could be dying unnecessarily due to lack of basic first aid knowledge.

This number is four times greater than the figure for those dying from lung cancer which is the most common form of cause of cancer death.

St John Ambulance skills can help save lives through enabling people to recognise when someone’s life is in danger – for example  if they’re suffering from a heart attack (which kill 29,000 people a year) – and realising they must call for professional help, but also give people the knowledge and confidence to be able to help someone on the spot.

Nearly 900 people choke to death each year and 2,500 asphyxiate from a blocked airway and people in these situations need immediate help.

According to St John Ambulance two out of three people wouldn’t feel confident enough to save a life and nearly a quarter would stand by and do nothing and either call an ambulance or hope someone else would step in. So they have produced a free pocket-sized booklet to tell people how to deal with   

Choking

Heart attack

Severe bleeding

An unconscious person

Someone who isn’t breathing.

Sue Killen, CEO, St John Ambulance comments: ‘Around 2,500 people die each year from a blocked airway, but if someone had known the recovery position, lives could have been saved. We’re urging everyone to text to claim a free first aid guide today.’

To order a booklet go to the St John Ambulance website, or text LIFE**** to 85010.

I learnt basic skills when working in London in a campaign organised by St Bartholomew’s Hospital to promote first aid knowledge but have ordered the booklet as it’s easy to forget.

It would be good to know if anyone else in Hedge End gets one – but I hope as well that BelindaGuy manages to recruit some new members for St John Ambulance in Hedge End.