As part of BIMA’s Lifesaver initiative, the team visited eight mosques across the region, with the majority of sessions taking place in Greater Manchester, training 244 people in CPR and what to do if someone suffers a cardiac arrest.

The sessions are designed to give people the confidence to act in those crucial first few minutes before an ambulance arrives, something that can make a real difference when every second counts.

Community resuscitation and engagement officers Fiona Masters and Sam Sellars were part of the team delivering the sessions, alongside six of our community first responder volunteers.

Fiona says: “It was brilliant to see so many people getting involved and taking the opportunity to learn these really important skills.

“People were interested, asked lots of questions and were keen to have a go for themselves. For some, it was the first time they had ever done CPR, so being able to give them that hands-on experience and the confidence to respond in an emergency was really rewarding.

“Knowing what to do in those first few minutes can mean a matter of life or death, so taking this training directly into local communities is a really important part of what we do.”

The partnership with BIMA forms part of a wider effort to make CPR training accessible to more people and help communities feel confident about responding when someone needs urgent help.