NICOLA Sturgeon has welcomed a council decision that will ensure every Glasgow pupil learns life-saving CPR, describing the move as, “fantastic.”
Glasgow is to become the first UK city to introduce compulsory lessons for secondary pupils following a pressure campaign by the Evening Times.
The SNP-led council is to work with British Heart Foundation Scotland, education officers and secondary teachers to put a plan in place that will place Glasgow among the ranks of world leaders in cardiac arrest strategy including Norway, Denmark and Seattle.
Glasgow has the highest rate of cardiac arrests in Scotland because of the health and deprivation link but research shows people from deprived areas are less likely to know CPR.
Read more: Glasgow politicians back campaign for mandatory CPR lessons
Meanwhile, survival rates north of the border lag behind the rest of the UK with only one in 20 people surviving without bystander CPR, compared to one in ten for the rest of the UK.
The council plan fits in with a government target to increase the number of people with CPR skills by 500,000 by 2020.
The First Minister said: “Glasgow becoming the first local authority in the UK to make CPR training in its schools compulsory is fantastic news.
“CPR saves lives and this move will lead to more young people learning these vital skills.
Read more: Survival rates tripled in Denmark after mandatory CPR was introduced in school curriculum
“It is important children also have the opportunity to learn these live saving skills.
“To date, around 250,000 people across the country have learned CPR since 2015, this being testament to the work done by Save a Life Scotland partners who have brought these lifesaving skills to people across the country.
“I now look forward to more children and young people at school in Glasgow getting the skills and confidence they need to help save more lives.”
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