Out & About February 2017

Heartbeat Thoughts of February turn to affairs of the heart and the prospects of love on Valentine’s Day. While the month is noted as heart month and officially marked as American Heart Month, the passion for heart safety locally is kept going throughout the year by Heartstart Thatcham. John Herring talks to the charity’s founder Dr Nick Young

“We wanted to give people the basic skills that they could use to cope in an emergency to support a casualty until professional help arrives and to make this available to as many people as possible. “Thus we provide short training courses for free.” Heartstart Thatcham was officially formed in May 2013 and became one of Mike Cole’s chosen charities during his year as the mayor of Thatcham. community for a number of years – he was vice chair of Thatcham Vision, is involved with Thatcham Festival, set-up the Peter Allen Memorial lectures, which raise money for the British Heart Foundation, and has also been chair of Thatcham Historical Society. the ideal of a nation of lifesavers could soon be achieved if every child left school with basic first aid skills Nick Young has a PhD in Electronic Engineering and taught engineering and computing in HE and FE for a number of years. He is now an independent web developer and IT trainer. His interest in local history started when his grandfather would tell him what various places around Thatcham and Newbury used to be like. He has since given numerous talks on local history and has published four books on the subject, with more on the way. He got into first aid after taking his first course in 2000. He has been volunteering in the local

Heartstart Thatcham’s first session

H eartstart Thatcham has been going from strength-to-strength since it was officially formed nearly four years ago. What started as an idea to provide people with basic life support skills has exceeded all expectations and grown into a charity spanning West Berkshire, with one mission in mind. Scheme coordinator Nick Young is clear about their aim: “Our goal is simple, to make a difference, to save lives. “This won’t change, but the way we achieve it is always evolving. “It is done through raising awareness and educating as many people as possible, with talks and practical training on emergency life support skills and to deploy defibrillators, the tools required in the ultimate medical emergency – a cardiac arrest.” For Dr Young, the charity’s work is, quite literally, close to his heart. Months after establishing Heartstart Thatcham, he was rushed in to the coronary care unit at the Royal Berkshire Hospital, Reading to have his heart shocked back into rhythm. He now lives with a heart condition, medication and a defibrillator in his chest.

“Having been through that I can appreciate just how vital these skills and equipment are, but also without the skills of the South Central Ambulance Service team and CCU staff I would not be here to train others,” Dr Young said. It brings a sense of comfort to know that the skills supplied by Heartstart Thatcham have been used in real-life emergencies by instructors and trainees. While he could not discuss the finer detail of the incidents, Dr Young said people had been able to put skills to use, ranging from placing a person in the recovery position to calling 999. “Knowing the skills have been used and have made a difference makes everything worthwhile and the team proud.” The first beats of Heartstart Thatcham started when Dr Young held public meetings and exhibitions six years ago in a bid to try and find the right people to cover all roles of the organisation. Dr Young said that he wanted a scheme that provided vital life support skills to people quicker and cheaper than other first aid courses available.

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