A special event at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital (GRH) next Monday aims to boost the amount of people in the county who have the skill to perform life-saving CPR – and everyone is welcome to look in and learn the basics of this life-saving skill.

GRH's Resuscitation (Resus) Department will stage the 'CPR-a-thon' from 7am to 7pm in the hospital's Main Atrium and the event will raise funds for Cheltenham and Gloucester Hospitals Charity.

Staged to coincide with the national Restart a Heart Day, Resus team members will be doing 12 hours of CPR on a mannequin while alongside the challenge, the Resus Department will also be on hand to teach visitors, with no appointment needed, the skills and techniques of CPR.

A spokesman said: "There will be a station for members of the public to come along and learn CPR and AED (Defibrillator) use, while trust staff can also attend and get their Adult BLS practical mandatory training compliance updated (if needed).

"Early CPR saves lives! Approximately 30,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests happen every year in the UK. Sadly, less than one in 10 people survive these cardiac arrests. Performing CPR can more than double the chances of survival in some cases."

Resuscitation & Simulation Officer Natasha Davy added: "For our CPR-a-thon, hospital colleagues will be performing continuous chest compressions on a mannequin for 12 hours. We're also aiming to awareness, teach CPR and build confidence so that more people will feel confident to perform CPR if they're ever in a situation when it's needed."

GHR volunteer Martyn Ridge has first-hand experience of the life-saving power of CPR and will be a familiar face to visitors - he is a welcome desk volunteer at GRH's Tower reception.

In 2018, Martyn had an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest at Highnam Community Centre whilst attending a swing dance. He owes his life to the quick actions of his friends, who were CPR trained and started then maintained chest compressions until medical help arrived.

Martyn said: "I feel incredibly fortunate that my friends' quick actions allowed me to survive this life-threatening experience. I know that many people are sadly not so lucky.

"These simple skills are something that anyone can learn and I urge everyone to take up the opportunity to really make a difference to someone in their hour of need. You never know when you might need them!"

● Helping hands: next week's GRH event has a Just Giving page  to enable wellwishers to support the cause.