Heartstart Somerset

Heartstart UK is the scheme co-ordinated by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) to teach members of the public skills to use in a life-threatening emergency.

The skills of emergency life support (ELS) are simple and can save lives. ELS is the set of actions needed to keep someone alive until professional help arrives. They include performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), dealing with choking, serious bleeding and helping someone that may be having a heart attack.

The most important factor determining survival after a cardiac arrest is the time from collapse of the casualty to defibrillation. Performing early CPR buys time and more than doubles the chances of survival. Through Heartstart UK the BHF aims to make free CPR training more widely available.


Heartstart Somerset
Free ELS training is provided locally by Heartstart Somerset, a scheme run by volunteers who co-ordinate a partnership between the Resuscitation Training Department at Musgrove Park Hospital, Devon & Somerset Fire and Rescue Service and other emergency services professionals working under the umbrella of the BHF.