As a group of friends from Loughor, Swansea, looked forward to a game of golf on a sunny day last September, they didn’t expect to be saving their friend’s life. 46-year-old Ian Hammond suffered a cardiac arrest, fell unconscious mid-course and almost died. But less than six months later, he’s back on the golf course thanks to the quick actions of his friends through CPR and defibrillation.
Save a Life Cymru has appointed six first-of-their-kind community co-ordinators to transform CPR and defibrillation access - positioning Wales as a frontrunner in implementing strategies for cardiac arrest survival among the home nations.
Welsh football star Aaron Ramsey is urging people to learn vital CPR and defib skills as he is named Save a Life Cymru ambassador in support of his team doctor, who lost his 25 year old daughter to cardiac arrest in 2017.
The Cardiff City and Wales midfielder is inspired by his team doctor, Len Nokes, who is also chair of Save a Life Cymru. He wants to increase public awareness of cardiac arrests and the number of people trained in CPR and defibrillation.
Save a Life Cymru has recently funded and supplied a new Public Access Defibrillator (PAD) at Langland Bay Beach to replace the obsolete equipment. This should now help residents and visitors to the area to feel safer if a cardiac arrest suddenly happens in the community.