NEW funding will be used to help improve survival rates for people facing life-threatening emergencies.
West Midlands Ambulance Service has been awarded a grant of £141,970 from NHS Charities Together through its Community Resilience Grants Fund.
The cash will be used to help more people gain the knowledge, skills and confidence to respond in an emergency through a two-year project teaching basic life support skills.
Figures show that fewer than one in ten people who suffer a cardiac arrest outside of hospital will survive. However, rapid action such as CPR and defibrillation can increase chances of survival to more than 50%.
Cliff Medlicott, regional community response manager at West Midlands Ambulance Service, said:
“We are incredibly grateful to NHS Charities Together for the support and funding – it is helping us bring vital training to communities that need it the most.
“In the first phase of this project, we will work closely with places of worship in areas where access to health and welfare services is limited, ensuring local people have the skills and confidence to respond in times of need which ultimately will help to save lives.”