North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) has joined forces with some of Lancashire’s top football clubs to encourage fans to make the save of their lives.



Goalkeepers from both Preston North End and Blackpool have swapped saving footballs for saving lives, as they show fans just how important it is to be able to give effective CPR to someone who is suffering a cardiac arrest.

Over in Burnley, even more players got involved as they were given a lesson in CPR by NWAS staff. The team can now act in the event of a cardiac arrest on the pitch or at home; where 80% of cardiac arrests occur.

The partnership between NWAS and the three Lancashire clubs has taken place to raise awareness of the upcoming international campaign Restart a Heart Day.

As part of the campaign, NWAS and other local care providers will be visiting a selection of schools up and down the North West on Friday 13 October and Monday 16 October, with an aim to train at least 20,000 secondary school students in CPR and defibrillation awareness.

Jane Atkinson, NWAS Community Resuscitation Development Manager for Lancashire said: “We’ve loved working with the clubs to deliver such an important message.

“The only way to save someone having a cardiac arrest is to give effective CPR and use a defibrillator, and with most out of hospital cardiac arrests happening in the home, the best chance of survival is for more and more people to know what to do to help.

“The aim of Restart a Heart Day is to train secondary school students in lifesaving skills, but ultimately we want to spread this message as far and wide as possible, to people of all ages, and we can’t thank these brilliant clubs enough for helping us to do just that.”

Jane and her team will also be at Turf Moor again this weekend for Burnley’s home match against West Ham, where they will be giving CPR demonstrations before and after the game as well as at half time. NWAS’ brand new CPR and defibrillator awareness film will also be shown to fans at half time and you can catch the film on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azmpvgIdjAA.