Derbyshire company staff take a break to learn vital CPR

Science company staff in Derbyshire took time away from their desks to learn how to save a life by brushing up on vital CPR skills.

Employees at Lubrizol in Hazelwood near Duffield took part in first aid awareness sessions delivered by St John Ambulance – a charity that the company has chosen to support for two years across all its UK sites.

More than 30,000 cardiac arrests take place outside of a hospital setting in the UK every year. But less than one in ten people survive, often because those around them don’t have the skills or confidence to perform CPR, or access to a defibrillator.

When someone is in cardiac arrest their heart has stopped beating, and every minute without CPR or defibrillation reduces the chances of survival by up to 10 per cent, while early CPR and defibrillation can more than double survival rates.

At Lubrizol’s UK technical centre in Hazelwood and its plant in Huddersfield, staff were invited to sign up for CPR awareness sessions on-site, giving them the opportunity to learn current best practice and hone their skills using adult and child dummies.

Sukhy Ubhi, market insights and advocacy manager at Lubrizol, said he had jumped at the chance to take part as he had last done CPR session ten years ago and thought it was time to brush up on his skills.

He also said his wife, a GP, had encouraged him to sign up.

“I’ve not had to perform CPR on anyone else, but clearly you could potentially end up saving a life,” said Sukhy. “It was an interesting morning hosted by Barry and Nigel from St John Ambulance, who told us how you’re supposed to do CPR.”

Sukhy said since he had last been trained in CPR and how to use a defibrillator, guidance has changed – and it was useful to learn current thinking on the best way of helping someone quickly and efficiently. Not just that, there is different advice on how to help adults and children.

He said: “The training doesn’t take long. It was an hour at the most. The training saves lives and it’s something I’m glad to say I’ve done.

“It’s great for me to work for a company that does arrange these things. I’d encourage other businesses to do the same.”

Nathan Sawyer, a placement student at Lubrizol, also took part in one of St John Ambulance’s sessions.

He said: “It gave me a really good introduction to CPR and when you should do it. I have done CPR and first aid training but it has been quite a while since I’ve had a refresher. I’ve not been in that situation but it could happen at any time.”

Lubrizol employees took part in the training at the Hazelwood and Huddersfield sites, with a further session planned at its Blackley site in Manchester in December.

Adam Greenwood, community engagement manager for St John Ambulance, said: “We want everyone to have the confidence to know what to do in an emergency, learn first aid and have access to lifesaving devices like defibrillators - so more lives can be saved each year.

“Simple first aid techniques, like recognising a cardiac arrest and starting chest compressions, can really make all the difference in an emergency. We're so pleased staff at Lubrizol have taken the time to learn these essential lifesaving skills, and we thank them for their continued support towards our charity.”