Chariots of Fire is an iconic 1.7 mile relay race in the centre of Cambridge, organised by Hewitsons Charitable Trust. EAAA’s life-saving CPR training programme was chosen as the charity partnership for 2020, which has been postponed to 2021 in light in Covid-19. The target will be to raise £97,500 to help EAAA teach more people in Cambridgeshire these live-saving skills.

Watch the video to hear more from Critical Care Paramedic Mark Milsom and EAAA patient Charlotte Salmons.

Mark Milsom, Critical Care Paramedic and First Aid Training Instructor at EAAA said: “CPR is such a vital skill but sadly not enough people are confident to deliver CPR and use a defibrillator. This is something we’re really keen to help change and by partnering with Hewitsons Charitable Trust through the Chariots of Fire event.

The funds raised next year will help us to deliver more life-saving CPR training across Cambridgeshire, to help improve cardiac arrest patient outcomes. We’re passionate about doing everything we can to help our patients get the very best care and in the case of cardiac arrests, bystander CPR and starting the chain of survival before emergency services arrive, drastically increases a person’s chance of survival.”

Chariots of Fire will be back in 2021 on Sunday 19 September. To start supporting this project now, you can do so by donating online.

Charles Hewitson of Hewitsons Charitable Trust added: “Each year the trustees of Hewitsons Charitable Trust select an official charity to partner with and raise money for through Chariots of Fire. The trustees were particularly impressed by the mission, ethos and dedication of EAAA, in that the patients are always at the heart of everything they do. Like many, it was a surprise to learn that the main incident type EAAA attend are cardiac arrests and that sadly only about 40% of those who suffer a cardiac arrest receive any form of bystander CPR before the arrival of the ambulance service.

It is clear that the survival rate can be greatly improved with early bystander CPR and defibrillation saving lives. The work of their First Aid Training programme, launched in 2018, has already proven to increase community resilience, improve confidence and improve the chances for their medical teams to deliver a positive outcome.

How could we not support this? Their one hour free Basic Life Support/ CPR and Defibrillator awareness sessions, has to date equipped over 2000 people with life-long, lifesaving skills and we are fully supportive to assist EAAA expand the delivery of this training and ultimately save more lives.

To achieve this EAAA need to raise £97,500 and we are confident that thanks to our loyal supporters and the fundraising activities through Chariots of Fire, we can all help EAAA achieve this target.”