“Learning to Rescue“ project provides basic life support training to all 9th grade students in the Azores - Communication

Secretaria Regional do Ambiente e Ação Climática

The Azores Regional Civil Protection and Fire Service held a "mass training" in Basic Life Support for the general population last Saturday at the São Bento Social Centre in Angra do Heroísmo, as part of the World Heart Day celebrations.

The Regional Secretary also attended the training. On the occasion, he stressed that the 75 trainees "will now be able to identify cardiopulmonary arrest, assess the victim's state of consciousness, know what information to provide the emergency line (112) and perform basic life support manoeuvres."

"Cardiopulmonary arrest is a sudden event and one of the main causes of death worldwide. Every minute that goes by after a cardiopulmonary arrest, the likelihood of being able to reverse the situation decreases by around 10%. For this reason, Basic Life Support is a fundamental tool for increasing the victim's chances of survival, especially when initiated in the first few minutes after cardiopulmonary arrest," he explained.

Alonso Miguel recalled that the most recent data from the 2022 European Eureca Three study, which focuses on the phenomenon of out-of-hospital cardiopulmonary arrest, reveals that "8.5% of patients who suffered cardiopulmonary arrest in the Azores were discharged from hospital without sequelae, and this figure is slightly higher than the European average, which stands at 8.0%."

"We consider that these figures are extremely positive and reflect the work of excellence carried out by the Azores Regional Civil Protection and Fire Service over the years," emphasised the Regional Secretary.

He added: "Even so, we intend to improve these figures by continuing to promote actions of this kind to reach more people."

In this regard, Alonso Miguel mentioned "the 'Learning to Rescue' project, through which it has been possible to start working in a school context, a good example of the effort undertaken by the Azores Regional Civil Protection and Fire Service in this training component. It provides all 9th-grade students in the Azores with practical training in Basic Life Support, in addition to the necessary support for Natural Sciences teachers, who are responsible for the theoretical component of this training."

In his speech delivered at the opening of the event, the Regional Secretary announced that "with the 'Learning to Rescue' project, in the 2023/2024 school year, it was possible to promote training in Basic Life Support on all islands, with the organisation of 138 actions, which covered 2775 students from all the 9th-grade classes in the Region."

"It is a great source of pride to be the first Region in the country to achieve this goal and we will continue with this successful project," he said.

Alonso Miguel added that "in addition to the 'Learning to Rescue' project, the Azores Regional Civil Protection and Fire Service continues to invest in other initiatives, such as the 'First Aid Schools'," reiterating its commitment to preparing the Azorean population to take action in emergencies and save lives.

"We believe that, with this strategy, forthcoming generations will be better prepared and capable of acting in emergencies, especially when it comes to cardiopulmonary arrest, helping to save lives at critical moments," he said.