LIFE SAVING RETAIL AT ABBEY CENTRE

– ABBEY CENTRE – FASHION, FOOD, LIFESAVING –

Abbey Centre has joined forces with Staff Training NI and Stryker to host the ‘Abbey Centre Lifesaving Skills Schools Initiative.’

The Newtownabbey-based retail destination is the title sponsor of the Lifesaving Skills Schools roadshow, which will visit twenty post-primary schools throughout the Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough area and further afield, to teach fourteen students and two teachers from each school essential lifesaving skills.

The nurse-led training programme will teach the importance of lifesaving skills including CPR, AED Defib, Choking and EpiPens.

Mark Stewart, Abbey Centre Manager says:

‘We are ecstatic to bring the Abbey Centre Lifesaving Skills Schools Initiative, powered by Staff Training NI and supported by Stryker; to post-primary schools in our local area.

‘The aim is that 280 students and 40 teachers will be fully trained in lifesaving skills by the end of the ten month roadshow programme. These 320 students and teachers will be armed with the skills to give someone in need the best possible chance of survival.’

Each of the twenty participating schools in the Abbey Centre Lifesaving Skills Schools Initiative will receive two free Stryker Defib flat training kits as well as a £100 cash donation from Abbey Centre towards the purchase of a school defibrillator or clinical consumables.

Each participating student will also receive a certificate of completion, £10 Abbey Centre gift card and Skechers discount voucher.  

The survival rate for someone suffering a sudden cardiac arrest decreases by 10% every minute. If defibrillation occurs within the first minutes of a cardiac arrest occurring, the survival rate for victims can be as high as 90%.[1]

Mark Stewart, Abbey Centre Manager continues:

‘We are determined to provide schools with the skills and tools necessary to achieve a positive outcome in a critical medical emergency.’

The programme, supported by the Education Authority, will be delivered by nurses from Staff Training NI.

Chris Lindsay, Training Manager at Staff Training NI adds:

‘It is an incredible honour to be a part of this initiative. Supporting people to develop the skills to save a life is a big part of our mission, and being part of this programme gives us a great opportunity to expand the number of young people in our community secondary schools that have this critical knowledge’.

Pictured L-R:

Glenn Walsh, Education Authority; Chris Lindsay, Training Manager at Staff Training NI, with Mark Stewart, Abbey Centre, Centre Manager.

[1] https://www.resus.org.uk/public-resource/defibrillation

Pictured L-R Group Shot:

Rosie Kinnear, Deputy Mayor of Antrim and Newtownabbey; David McClurg, BDE & ME for Staff Nursing Ltd and Staff Training NI; Chris Lindsay, Training Manager at Staff Training NI; Mark Stewart, Abbey Centre, Centre Manager; Mark Bailie, Director, MKB Medical Services (Stryker Supplier), with Glenn Walsh, Education Authority.