MSP says Falkirk Council ‘too slow’ to bring life-saving scheme to schools

In a letter to the SNP man, the council says it’s committed to providing CPR training for pupils - 28 of Scotland’s 32 councils have already signed up to the BHF bid to “create a nation of life-savers”.

Besides studying whether to join the British Heart Foundation campaign to deliver CPR training in schools the authority is also liaising with Falkirk Community Trust, which has offered free basic awareness training to pupils via qualified tutors.

However Mr MacDonald says he first called the council to sign up to the BHF scheme in August last year, and says Falkirk is one of the last authorities in Scotland to consider joining.

He said: “I will be pleased to see this training rolled out, which will add Falkirk pupils to the growing number of life savers being created across the country.

“It is however unfortunate that Falkirk Council is one of the last Councils in Scotland to consider signing up to the scheme, despite my regular cajoling.

“CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) is vital to increasing the chances of survival in instances of cardiac arrest - 30,000 cardiac arrests across the UK happen outside of hospital, yet the survival rate is currently less than one in ten.

“Providing this training in schools means that more people can become life-savers, ultimately leading to more people surviving cardiac arrest.

“This is something which should have been carried out long before now, however I am glad to see that steps towards providing this training in our schools are being taken”.

He added: “I first raised this issue in August last year.

“Although it has taken some time to get to this current stage, I am pleased to see the council have contacted BHF about this issue.

“I would, however, call on the council to continue their engagement with BHF to sign up to a commitment to training every pupil in CPR before they leave school, sooner rather than later.”