Skip navigation
North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) logo
  • News
  • Events
  • Charity
  • Ambulance Academy
  • Publications
Use this link to enable the ReciteMe accessibility toolkit Enable ReciteMe accessibility tools
  • Home
  • Our service
    • Urgent and emergency care (999)
    • NHS 111 (non-emergency)
    • Patient Transport Service (PTS)
    • Major incidents
    • Emergency advice
    • Information for professionals
    • Other ways we can help
    • Help accessing our services
    Need to arrange transport using our Patient Transport Service (PTS)?
  • Get involved
    • Your Call Magazine
    • Volunteer with us
    • Support the North West Ambulance Charity
    • Support our campaigns
    • Children and young people
    • Lifesaving skills
    • Events
    • Share your experience
    • What happens with your feedback?
    • Talk to us on social media
    • Change NHS: Helping shape a health service fit for the future
    Need to arrange transport using our Patient Transport Service (PTS)?
  • About us
    • Our publications
    • Who we are
    • Our locations
    • Our strategy and values
    • How we are doing
    • Board of directors
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Research and development
    • Public Health
    Need to arrange transport using our Patient Transport Service (PTS)?
  • Careers
    • Our assessment centre
    • Current vacancies
    • Join our team
    • Why work with us
    • Explore roles
    • Applying for a job
    • Working with the Armed Forces
    Need to arrange transport using our Patient Transport Service (PTS)?
  • Contact us
    • Media
    • Request my information
    • FOI and EIR
    • General enquiries
    • Lost property
    • Make a complaint
    • External Patient Event Reporting Form
    • Point taken
    • Send a thank you
    • Tell us how we did
    Need to arrange transport using our Patient Transport Service (PTS)?
  • Home
  • Our service
    • Urgent and emergency care (999)
    • NHS 111 (non-emergency)
    • Patient Transport Service (PTS)
    • Major incidents
    • Emergency advice
    • Information for professionals
    • Other ways we can help
    • Help accessing our services
    Need to arrange transport using our Patient Transport Service (PTS)?
  • Get involved
    • Your Call Magazine
    • Volunteer with us
    • Support the North West Ambulance Charity
    • Support our campaigns
    • Children and young people
    • Lifesaving skills
    • Events
    • Share your experience
    • What happens with your feedback?
    • Talk to us on social media
    • Change NHS: Helping shape a health service fit for the future
    Need to arrange transport using our Patient Transport Service (PTS)?
  • About us
    • Our publications
    • Who we are
    • Our locations
    • Our strategy and values
    • How we are doing
    • Board of directors
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Research and development
    • Public Health
    Need to arrange transport using our Patient Transport Service (PTS)?
  • Careers
    • Our assessment centre
    • Current vacancies
    • Join our team
    • Why work with us
    • Explore roles
    • Applying for a job
    • Working with the Armed Forces
    Need to arrange transport using our Patient Transport Service (PTS)?
  • Contact us
    • Media
    • Request my information
    • FOI and EIR
    • General enquiries
    • Lost property
    • Make a complaint
    • External Patient Event Reporting Form
    • Point taken
    • Send a thank you
    • Tell us how we did
    Need to arrange transport using our Patient Transport Service (PTS)?

Search the site

  • Home
    • Urgent and emergency care (999)
    • NHS 111 (non-emergency)
    • Patient Transport Service (PTS)
    • Major incidents
    • Emergency advice
    • Information for professionals
    • Other ways we can help
    • Help accessing our services
    Need to arrange transport using our Patient Transport Service (PTS)?
    • Your Call Magazine
    • Volunteer with us
    • Support the North West Ambulance Charity
    • Support our campaigns
    • Children and young people
    • Lifesaving skills
    • Events
    • Share your experience
    • What happens with your feedback?
    • Talk to us on social media
    • Change NHS: Helping shape a health service fit for the future
    Need to arrange transport using our Patient Transport Service (PTS)?
    • Our publications
    • Who we are
    • Our locations
    • Our strategy and values
    • How we are doing
    • Board of directors
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Research and development
    • Public Health
    Need to arrange transport using our Patient Transport Service (PTS)?
    • Our assessment centre
    • Current vacancies
    • Join our team
    • Why work with us
    • Explore roles
    • Applying for a job
    • Working with the Armed Forces
    Need to arrange transport using our Patient Transport Service (PTS)?
    • Media
    • Request my information
    • FOI and EIR
    • General enquiries
    • Lost property
    • Make a complaint
    • External Patient Event Reporting Form
    • Point taken
    • Send a thank you
    • Tell us how we did
    Need to arrange transport using our Patient Transport Service (PTS)?
  • News
  • Events
  • Charity
  • Ambulance Academy
  • Publications
Home > News > Announcements > Public appeal – learn how to save a life today

Public appeal – learn how to save a life today

Posted 29th February 2024

On this year’s extra day, we're asking North West residents to take a few minutes out to learn Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and how to use public defibrillators, so people across the region have a greater chance of surviving a cardiac arrest.

Share this page

Cardiac arrest occurs when the heart suddenly stops beating, leading to a cessation of blood flow to vital organs, including the brain. In the UK, around 60,000 people have an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest every year. Survival rates from cardiac arrest which happen outside hospital remain worryingly low, with less than one in ten people surviving.

In 2022-23 there were over 3,500 cardiac arrest patients in the North West. The need for CPR education is a high priority for us and our emergency service colleagues as someone in cardiac arrest will die within minutes unless treated immediately with CPR.

For every minute that someone’s in cardiac arrest without receiving CPR and having a defibrillator used on them, their chance of survival decreases by 10%. One of the main reasons for this is the lack of action from bystanders before ambulance crews arrive both giving CPR and using a defibrillator. This is why it’s vitally important that people in the community who witness a cardiac arrest start lifesaving CPR and defibrillation in the crucial minutes before an ambulance crew arrives – it can make the difference between life and death.

Speaking about the importance of life saving defibrillators in cardiac arrest, Regional Community Engagement Lead Mark Evans said: “Defibrillation within five minutes of a cardiac arrest can result in survival rates as high 70%. Defibrillators are not something to be scared of, they can be used by members of the public. They speak to you and take you step by step through what you need to do to help save someone’s life. We believe defibrillators should be as readily available as fire extinguishers and have advocated this for years.

“If you are looking for something ‘extra’ to do to mark this Leap year, taking the time to learn how to perform CPR will greatly improve the survival rates of cardiac arrest and strengthen the chain of survival. If one life is saved it makes learning the skill worthwhile, I would encourage anyone to do this.”

Related pages

  • Learn to restart a heart

Archive

  • 2025
  • 2024

Contact us

General enquiries

0345 112 0999 To call general enquiries, click this link or dial 0345 112 0999

This number should NOT be used to contact us in an emergency. In an emergency dial 999 immediately or for non-urgent medical advice call NHS 111.

How to find us

Directions to our offices

Alternative formats

Please contact us if you require any information on our website in an alternative format, such as easy read of large print.

CQC Good rating widget

  • Help
  • Privacy policy
  • Accessibility
  • Freedom of Information
  • Contact us
  • Green Room
  • Cookies

© Copyright 2025 North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust. Lovingly crafted by Mixd

Cookie settings

We use some essential cookies to make this website work. We’d like to set additional cookies to understand how you use nwas.nhs.uk, remember your settings and improve our services. We also use cookies set by other sites to help us deliver content from their services.
View cookies
You have accepted additional cookies. You can change your cookie settings at any time.
You have rejected additional cookies. You can change your cookie settings at any time.