Ambulance Victoria’s Kids Save Lives program has been expanded, offering life-saving CPR skills to even more Victorian students and all schools are encouraged to sign up to the life-saving program.
The Australian-first program has been developed by Ambulance Victoria for teachers to deliver and aims to improve cardiac arrest survival rates by showing students how to do cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and use an automated external defibrillator (AED).
Last year Ambulance Victoria paramedics responded to 7,545 out of hospital cardiac arrests. While Victoria has one of the best cardiac arrest survival rates in the world, every day about 20 Victorians suffer a cardiac arrest but only one in 10 people survive.
Around 80 per cent of Victorian cardiac arrests occur in residential settings, Ambulance Victoria executive director of regional operations Danielle North said it is important that both adults and young people know CPR and how to use an AED.
“Our Kids Save Lives program contains essential learning and life-saving skills,” Ms North said.
“Students will not only be able to share their knowledge with friends and family, but also with their wider community.
“We hope this training will help save many Victorian lives.”
Through Kids Save Lives, students are taught to recognise when someone is in cardiac arrest and to learn the three simple steps of Call (call Triple Zero 000), Push (perform CPR) and Shock (use an AED).
The program is conducted in partnership with the Heart Foundation, Monash University, Australian Resuscitation Council, Department of Education and Training and Heart of the Nation and was established by original Yellow Wiggle Greg Page who survived a cardiac arrest in January 2020.
More than 5,300 students from 35 schools have already enrolled in the expansion pilot program, and we are calling on more Year 7-10 schools to get involved to help bring these life-saving skills to even more students in 2025.
Victorian teachers who are interested in learning more about the free of charge Kids Save Lives program can email community.engagement@ambulance.vic.gov.au
