Young people at a Burton school have been learning some vital skills which really could mean the difference between life and death after a visit from a doctor.

Dr Marina Soltan, from Burton’s Queen’s Hospital, headed to Paulet High School, in Violet Way, to teach pupils how to administer CPR in a life-threatening situation.

More than 275 students attended the workshop during the day and around 15 members of staff were also present for the training.

Lara Raworth, medical education centre manager for Burton Hospital Foundation Trust, said that doctors who are in training are required to undertake activities which will demonstrate and improve a number of key skills such as communication, leadership and teaching. This is in order for them to progress through their careers.

Paulet pupils learn how to perform CPR

She said: “Providing the doctors in training with opportunities to develop these key skills in an appropriate forum is something which we offer to all the junior doctors here at Burton which helps and support the development of their portfolios and evidence of continuing professional development.”

Dr Soltan said: “It was a great privilege to teach around 300 secondary school students from Paulet School CPR. Basic Life Support skills are essential and save lives. It’s important that these skills are taught to all school children across the country in a way which is accessible for them at their level of education. This initiative has shown that medical education is a vital subject for everyone including school children.

“We call for these skills to become a compulsory aspect of the national curriculum and we welcome working with other organisations to facilitate this. Many thanks to Burton Hospital Foundation Trust and West Midlands Deanery for their support of this initiative which has helped me with my training and which I have learned a lot from. I look forward to continue carrying out work within this field."

Burton’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust said that the day was a real success and Dr Soltan will hopefully be publishing some data around the sessions to look at improving CPR training.

Dr Marina Soltan teaching pupils the importance of CPR

Dave Kelly, community champion at Paulet High School, said: "All of the staff and students at Paulet High School are extremely grateful to Dr Soltan for delivering CPR training to more than 275 year 7 and 8 students across the day, as part of our Heart Health Week. It was wonderful to have a fully-trained doctor from our local community coming into our school to teach valuable life skills, which the hopefully the pupils will never have to use. The engaging, hands-on nature of the training meant that the sessions were both enjoyable and informative. We look forward to further collaboration projects with the hospital.”

How to perform CPR from the British Heart Foundation

The British Heart Foundation has put together a guide to help people who come across someone who is unconscious.

The first piece of advice is to approach with care and look out for hazards such as fire, traffic and electricity and always call for emergency services. The check for a response by gently shaking the person’s shoulders and asking if they are okay really loudly.

Always ask for help if someone is nearby and ask them to stay as you might need them. Open their airway by placing one hand on the person’s forehead, gently tilt their head back and lift their chin using two fingers of the other hand under their chin.

Keeping their head back, check if the person is breathing normally by looking for regular chest movements, listening for breathing and feeling for breath. Do this for no more than 10 seconds. If the person is breathing normally then put them in the recovery position.

If they are not breathing then kneel next to the person, place one hand in the centre of their chest and place the other hand on top of the first. Interlock the fingers and with straight arms, use the heel of the hand to push the breastbone down firmly and smoothly so the chest is pressed down between five and six centimetres and release. This needs to be done at a rate of 100 to 120 chest compressions per minute.

Open the airway again and pinch the soft part of the person’s nose closed. Take a normal breath and make a seal around their mouth and breathe out steadily. This needs to be done twice and should take no longer than five seconds.

Repeat 30 compressions and two breaths.