Airbus launches new charity partnership with the British Heart Foundation

Airbus in the UK has formally launched its new charity partnership with the British Heart Foundation (BHF) by putting its senior management through Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) training.

The BHF was chosen by company employees as their official charity partner and aims to raise more than £200,000 for the charity over the two year duration of the partnership which commenced on 1st January.

[miptheme_quote author=”Paul McKinlay, Head of Broughton Plant” style=”text-center”]It’s a great life skill to have and one that can truly make a tremendous difference to someone in a life or death situation. [/miptheme_quote]

The money raised will enable the charity to donate CPR training kits, like those used by Airbus management in their training sessions, to local secondary schools in North Wales and Cheshire. The target is to get all 10,000 staff working for Airbus commercial aircraft in the UK trained in CPR.

Hannah Lloyd, BHF Partnership Manager said:

Thousands of lives are being lost each year because people lack the confidence and the skills to step in and save a life when someone collapses with a cardiac arrest. Knowing how to perform CPR when you’re faced with this ultimate medical emergency could literally mean the difference between life and death.

By training their staff in Broughton and Filton in how to perform CPR, Airbus is playing a crucial role in helping us create a Nation of Lifesavers and dramatically improving survival rates from cardiac arrest. We are really excited to work with Airbus to get all 10,000 employees trained in this lifesaving skill.

Airbus’ Charity Campaign Manager Lauren Ashall said:

CPR training is a great life skill to have and one that can truly make a tremendous difference to someone in a life or death situation.

Our aim over this partnership is to offer CPR training to all of our employees during the first year and during the second year we will focus on getting local schools around the Broughton and Filton sites to sign up to receive CPR training kits.

Coronary heart disease is the UK’s single biggest killer, and every year in the UK more than 30,000 people suffer cardiac arrest away from a hospital setting and less than one in 10 survive.

By dialling 999, and performing CPR immediately, you can help give someone the best possible chance of survival.

Airbus recently concluded a two-year partnership with Hospice UK, with the total sum fundraised due to be announced to employees and the charity in the coming weeks.