First responder backs drive to get more Cambridgeshire children learning CPR
She's working with children to learn the lifesaving skill
Last updated 22nd Oct 2026
A first responder says the time it takes to be trained in CPR and other first aid skills is putting people in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough off learning them.
All this month, the East of England Ambulance Service (EEAST) is holding open training sessions in the county to get more people to know what to do in an emergency.
"Most villages will have a community responder team that operates locally to them," Samantha Knightley, a volunteer first responder, said.
"But getting through the examination process, it often takes people about six months to get through their training, so I think a lot of people are put off by that but it is rewarding."
Samantha is helping deliver training to those who want to learn CPR as part of the national Restart a Heart campaign, led by the Resuscitation Council UK.
The month-long campaign also teaches people how to use a defibrillator.
Building confidence
As part of her work, Samantha - who's been in her role for around three-and-a-half years - teaches children about CPR and the importance of it.
"I go out to a lot of scouts and girlguides to try and teach communities (about) first responding; it's certainly been more popular because they have identified not many people are confident about performing CPR," she said.
"The likelihood of encountering CPR patients is going to be your nearest and dearest, people you spend a lot of time with.
"The majority of people out in the public wouldn't come across a CPR patient that isn't known to them, but it is important everyone learns to do it."
Figures suggest a third of men worry about touching women when giving CPR, potentially putting women at risk during a cardiac arrest.
Dani Phillipson is a resuscitation officer at the North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust, who has helped set up an open training session in Peterborough city centre this week.
"No one has ever got in trouble for doing CPR on anyone," she said.
"If someone touching or pushing on our chest means we're alive at the end of the day, I don't think there's anyone that minds you doing what you can, as long as you think it's the best thing you can do at that point."
Work to break down 'stigma'
Samantha said places like EEAST are working to try and get more people to overcome this barrier.
"(Health) Trusts are pushing hard to get that stigma overruled and for people to be more accepting that it is a female needing CPR, we're okay with the chest being exposed and CPR being performed, she added.
"They are just as deserving as anyone else and don't be afraid to perform CPR just because they're female."
Research reported by EEAST shows that bystander intervention in the first few minutes can make a critical difference before emergency services arrive.
Currently, all state-funded secondary schools in England must have CPR training as part of the curriculum for students 12-years-old and over to learn.
Guidance issued by the Department for Education includes primary school children learning basic first aid, such as dealing with head injuries.