Nine out of ten parents don’t know basic first aid skills that could help them to save their child’s life, and only 20 per cent of parents in the UK think that they could resuscitate their child – Royal Life Saving Society UK (RLSS UK) research shows.
But trained volunteers in Westbury are now offering the Royal Life Saving Society UK’s (RLSS UK) Save A Baby’s Life course to help reduce these figures and give parents and others who care for children in the area the confidence to put emergency lifesaving skills into practice if, in the unlikely event, a baby’s life is threatened.
Places for People Leisure will be hosting Save a Baby’s Life workshops at Leighton Recreation Centre where trained instructors will cover basic life-saving techniques and provide advice on what to do when a baby stops breathing, or how best to deal with a choking or drowning situation. Using a life-like baby manikin, people will learn how to perform basic CPR and first aid as they would in a real life situation.
Keith Brunsden, general manager, Leighton Recreation Centre says, “It is frightening how many people care for babies and young children every day but would not know what to do if a child stopped breathing. This programme is designed to equip members of the community with the vital skills they would need in order to attempt to save a baby’s life if the emergency occurred.
“The hands-on style of learning we encourage through the workshops means it doesn’t take long to understand the basics, but they are invaluable skills that will stay with people for life.
“Our aim is to ensure that parents and others who care for babies feel confident and calm to deal with an emergency situation safely and if one baby’s life is saved as a result of the Save a Baby’s life workshop, it has been a success.”
Di Steer, chief executive at the RLSS UK added, “We hope that the Save a Baby’s Life campaign will raise awareness for the need of basic first aid training for parents across the UK, to prevent accidents becoming fatalities.”
Save a Baby’s Life workshops will be taking part at Leighton Recreation Centre on Thursday 22nd June at 6.30pm. To find out more about the course, and how you can take part, contact Anne Egerton on 01373 824448 or visit www.leightonrecreationcentre.co.uk
