Local MSP Backs Life-Saving Lessons in NE Schools

Stewart Stevenson, SNP MSP for Banffshire & Buchan Coast, has pledged his support to the teaching of Emergency Life-saving Skills (ELS) in every Scottish school.

Meeting with the British Heart Foundation (BHF) Scotland and partners at the Scottish National Party conference, Stevenson gave his backing to the campaign to ensure that all students in Banffshire & Buchan Coast are taught the skills which would help save a life. ELS training can be incorporated within the guidelines in the Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) very simply and Stevenson himself had a go at discovering how easily Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) is learned.

There is an average of 25 cardiac arrest calls each day in Scotland to the Scottish Ambulance Service. Prompt CPR can buy time before professional help arrives and can drastically improve the chances for survival. Local authorities should ensure all schools are provided ELS classes, as training only takes two hours to teach and includes CPR, how to deal with serious bleeding, choking, and heart attacks.

Commenting, Mr Stevenson said:

“Including ELS in our children’s education is an opportunity to save lives. A two hour lesson will give students the skills, confidence, and preparation they need to act in the case of an emergency.

“Our communities can only gain from introducing these life-saving lessons into schools’ curriculums. I fully support this campaign for emergency response preparations.”