We were delighted recently to receive a request from Warwickshire Warm Hubs to train people on CPR and using a defibrillator. Our first such outing was to Shipston where we trained 20 people and were delighted to confirm that we have now trained 2,000 people in these skills since starting this work in 2016. Our president, Anne, is seen her presenting a celebratory voucher to Alison, who is our 2000’th trainee.

 

Since 2016 we have undertaken Life Support Skills training. This has included the recovery of an unconscious non-breathing casualty, CPR, the use of a Defibrillator, the Recovery Position and choking recovery. Unfortunately, we were not able to train after January 2020 until November 2021 due to COVID restrictions. This training is given free of charge.

 

Student Training to-date

The numbers of mainly Year 12 Stratford students trained since 2016 are as follows:        

• KES  - 190 in June 2024, 966 to date

• Stratford School - 331 to date                 

• Stratford Girls GS - 273 to date

    Total -  Stratford -  1570 students @ July 2024           

• North Leamington School - January 2019 63 students (Year 8) & Jan 2020 79 students ( Year 9      

    Total to-date              1712 students @July 2024

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​​​​​​​​Having achieved, in 2019, a milestone of 1000 school leavers trained since 2016, we were very disappointed not to be able to do further training after January 2020. Entry into senior Stratford schools was not possible due to COVID restrictions. School leavers have been particularly targeted for training as they would, in later life, take Life Support Skills into the wider community.

Throughout this period, training was given by a pool of 10-15 Lions, one teacher and normally one senior member of Stratford Ambulance Association. During pupil ‘hands-on’ breakout sessions, there was generally one trainer to every 3 or 4 students. Notably our COVID precautions including masks, distancing and maximum ventilation were maintained at Stratford Girls Grammar School in November 2021. This particular training, in strict COVID times, reflected well on the commitment of the Lions team.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Adult and Community Training

Due to the recent interest in Life Support skills arising from both the Euros Tournament and recent campaigns, we have been asked to train fellow Lions Clubs and local community groups. So far we have trained Southam (20) and Wellesbourne (18) Lions in March 2022; Tiddington Community Centre (20), Fred Winter Centre staff (12).In February 2023 and a Community Training Session with Stratford Ambulance Association over the weekend of March11/12 at which we trained 80 Stratford residents. Also we trained 20 residents at Salford Priors Memorial Hall in June.  In 2024 we trained Abbots Salford residents (18) together with a second Community Training event (43) on May18th. Total adults trained 231 Adults

We are proud to have trained a member of staff at the Fred Winter Centre who successfully used a defibrillator donated by Shakespeare Lions to revive a nearby collapsed casualty.

Total trainees 1943-nearly at our 2024 target of 2000 trainees!!

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During October 2024 our members held three free sessions in Stratford to demonstrate a basic understanding of when, why and how to perform CPR and also how to use a defibrillator. Almost 40 people attended and were able to have hands-on experience with our dummies and equipment.

Feedback on the sessions was overwhelmingly positive as highlighted below:

​​​​​​​​“We both came away feeling confident that in the event of an emergency, we would feel (hopefully!) that we could be useful”

“Thank you so much for an excellently delivered training session yesterday. I especially loved the level of engagement with trainees and could not fault it”

“The session covered more than we expected and the cards that we were given at the end were a good reminder of the process.”

Shakespeare Lions have been delivering these sessions since 2016 in schools and various community centres. Further dates will be announced in 2025, so watch out for those if you are interested.  

 

Financial

We are particularly grateful for initial funding from the Municipal Charities with two further support grants in 2020 and 2023. Yearly running costs have approached £500-£800 with equipment costs likely to rise due to the equipment and spares being made in USA. We have gratefully received 2 donations of £200 from Salford Priors PC and initial £50 from KES.

 

The Future

We understand that ‘Emergency First Aid’ is soon to be compulsorily taught in schools and await details to determine our possible involvement. We plan a third Community Training event in October 2024 and have been invited to provide a Life Support Skills demonstration at Lions Convention in Stratford in April 2025.​​​​​​​​​

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