Orkney Islands Council to Deliver CPR in all Secondary Schools

That the Parliament welcomes the commitment from Orkney Islands Council to deliver training for all secondary school pupils in lifesaving CPR; understands that this decision has been taken in response to poor cardiac arrest survival rates in Orkney and across Scotland, where only one in 12 people can expect to survive an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest; recognises that this follows international best practice from countries such as Denmark, where cardiac arrest survival rates tripled following a decision to train all secondary pupils in this lifesaving skill; notes that this decision sees Orkney Islands Council join 23 other local authorities in Scotland in committing to delivering this vital training, and considers that, if the remaining eight councils in the country were to make a similar commitment, Scotland would see approximately 50,000 young people trained in potentially lifesaving CPR training every year.