Exeter College has been working with Devon charity, Jay’s Aim, to train thousands of students in the correct use of CPR. In addition to this, the charity has worked with the College Safety, Health and Environment Manager to help replace defibrillators in key places across College sites. 

The charity aims to reduce the number of young people that die of sudden cardiac arrests in South West England. They do this in 3 ways; by offering free to attend CPR and defibrillator training, providing public access to defibrillators (in most cases funded by the charity for public places), and offering heart screenings for young people.  

Dan Osborne, CEO and Charity Manager at Jay’s Aim has been working closely with the College. He said; 

“Jay’s Aim was set up in memory of Jay Osborne, who died from a sudden cardiac arrest at the age of 28. Jay didn’t have many, if any, signs, or symptoms and sadly, had a cardiac arrest while he was out running in Exeter and couldn’t be saved. A lot of what we do is to try and make people aware that it is not always the people that you might think that have a cardiac arrest. Cardiac arrest can and do happen to young people as well.” 

When someone has a cardiac arrest, if somebody can start immediate CPR and make use of a defibrillator within the first five minutes, their chance of survival goes from 6% up to 74%. Dan explains; 

“The downside is that every minute that passes after the five-minute mark, the chance of survival goes down by 10%. So, by six minutes you are down to 64%, by seven minutes your down to 50%, and so on. 
 
“That statistic highlights why it is so important to have defibrillators everywhere and why it’s so great that Exeter College have now got 10 defibrillators across all of their sites, hopefully making that magic five-minute mark much more achievable in any location that you might be at Exeter College.” 
 
Kelly Lamb, Student Experience Officer at Exeter College, has been working with Jay’s Aim to facilitate the CPR sessions. She said; 

“CPR training is essential for young people, and we are proud to have successfully trained approximately 3000 students over the past year. 

“The workshops with Jay’s Aim go beyond imparting life-saving skills.  Students actively engage in the workshops, contributing to a positive learning environment where they not only acquire crucial knowledge but also participate enthusiastically. The workshops enhance their readiness to respond effectively in emergencies and this fosters a sense of empowerment and community responsibility.” 

Mike Loomes, Safety, Health and Environment Manager, at Exeter College has been coordinating the replacement of defibrillators across the College sites. He said; 

“We have invested a lot of time, effort, and money with Jay’s Aim and this work with them is absolutely invaluable. Many of the defibrillators on Exeter College sites are external facing so are accessible to the public. This includes Exwick Sports Hub, the Maths and Science Centre (end of Queen Street), Flowerpots Playing Fields, and Haven Banks Outdoor Education Centre.” 

Exeter College will continue to work with Jay’s Aim to train young people in CPR and highlight the importance of attending heart screenings.