Our team WhatsApp group was called “Restart A Heart Day Legends” — and honestly, that says it all.
You’ve got to admire our Clinical Community Lead, Adam Carr, for his sheer ambition (and stamina!). Determined to spread life-saving CPR skills far and wide, Adam rallied a team of volunteers for a very long day at London Stansted Airport.
After the success of last year’s inaugural event, when the team taught an impressive 770 passengers and staff in a single 10-hour shift, Adam set his sights even higher:
“We’re going back,” he said, “and this time we’re starting at 3:30am. We’ll keep going until we’ve smashed our target, and until they close at 10pm!”
Why Restart A Heart Day matters
Restart A Heart Day, held every year on 16th October, is a worldwide initiative to raise awareness about cardiac arrest and the importance of learning CPR.
The statistics are sobering. In the UK, fewer than one in ten people survive an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Even more concerning, only 35% of people say they would step in to help if they witnessed one*.
For every minute that CPR isn’t started, the chance of survival drops by 10%. No matter how quickly emergency services arrive, every second really does count.
At Essex & Herts Air Ambulance (EHAAT), our crews see too many incidents where the outcome could have been very different - if only someone nearby had known what to do. That’s why our message is simple:
Anyone can learn CPR. Anyone can use a defibrillator.
Stepping up to teach
To prove that point, Adam didn’t just recruit volunteers from the clinical team. He actively encouraged the charity team to take on teaching roles too, and we were more than up for the challenge!
I volunteered for the final six-hour shift, from 3pm to 10pm. When I arrived, the earlier teams had already trained an incredible 865 people, and we were determined to keep the momentum going.
As the Communications & PR Manager at EHAAT, I’m more used to telling the stories than being part of them, but I was genuinely humbled that Adam and the clinical team welcomed us into their world for the day. It’s not nearly as impactful as the work our amazing doctors and paramedics do every day, but when it comes to events like this, we really are one team.
Learning by doing
At first, I was nervous. I shadowed Jon, our CPR Smart paramedic, who was somehow still smiling after grabbing a couple of hours rest having been up at the crack of dawn to complete the first shift at 3.30am.
Before long, I found my rhythm. I met people from all walks of life - families, holidaymakers, students, airport staff - all eager to learn how to help in an emergency. The energy was infectious, the conversations inspiring, and every milestone on the clicker counter gave us another boost.
By the end of the day, we were sore, tired, and slightly hoarse, but elated. We’d reached 1,208 people trained in CPR and defibrillator use.
Legends, every one of them
I drove home that night with a deep sense of fulfilment and pride, in our team, in what we achieved together, and in knowing that over a thousand more people now have the confidence to act if the worst should happen.
“Restart A Heart Day Legends” wasn’t just a WhatsApp group name. It was the truth.
Written by Lynda Barrow, Communications & PR Manager, Essex & Herts Air Ambulance.