Congratulations to our Clinical Director for Research and Development Claire Whitehouse - pictured with her family above - who has been the driving force behind a campaign which has resulted in more than 1000 people learning Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR).
Claire was inspired to support more people to learn CPR when she was called upon to use her own life-saving skills, when a neighbour suffered a heart attack.
One day in August last year, Claire was at home with her daughters when a neighbour knocked on the door to say her husband had collapsed and needed help.
He had suffered a heart attack – but, thanks to her annual life support training, Claire was able to perform CPR before paramedics arrived. The CPR worked – and the first thing the neighbour remembered when he came round was Claire’s daughter Eva holding his hand and saying: ‘Good job, Mummy!’
The incident prompted Claire to consider just how important it is for as many people as possible to know how to perform CPR, to help them if they face a similar situation.
As a result, she launched a campaign to train 50 people in her community, working with the East Anglian Air Ambulance to deliver one-hour training sessions at a local bowling club.
But it didn’t stop there. Soon local schools and a table tennis club were involved – and now, thanks to Claire, 1,111 local people in her neighbourhood are now confident and equipped with the skills and knowledge to perform CPR, use a defibrillator – and help save a life.