Pumping Marvellous

East Lancashire children receive life-saving defibrillator lessons

3:00pm Friday 29th June 2012

By Catherine Pye

LESSONS on how to use a defibrillator and on giving CPR are part of the timetable for a new set of Heart Schools across East Lancashire. Hapton-based heart charity Pumping Marvellous has just completed a session with 70 junior school pupils at Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School in Blackburn, and has plans to roll the course out to Rosegrove Nursery School in Burnley, Mount Carmel in Accrington, St Barnabas and St Paul’s Primary in Blackburn, and another school in Rossendale. As well as equipment know-how from experts at the British Red Cross, charity founder Nick Hartshorne-Evans, has recruited hospital nurses and restauranteurs to encourage healthy lifestyles from a young age. Nick said: “We decided to start this scheme because the cardio vascular profile of East Lancashire, and because we feel the right message has to start early. “We used Rosegrove Nursery as an ideas platform at first, showing toddlers what a raspberry looked like, and that you can make smoothies by combining a strawberry, a banana and some low fat yogurt. Then, the older children are taught how the heart works, the effects of exercise on the heart, the effects of alcohol, smoking and drugs on the heart, and how to give first aid. “We try to make it fun by having very hands-on lessons. With the help of teachers, Nick sets age-suitable homework on how the heart works, and each pupil receives a goody bag of health-related advice. He added: “We now have 70 children who know how to use a defibrillator.”

Heart Failure in the News – Nick our Chairman and one of our Trustees talks about his successes and puts across the point of how the Pumping Marvellous method helped him  http://t.co/kgQ16szz

This is a link to the full page article in the Lancashire Evening Telegraph of Nick Hartshorne-Evans our Chairman and Trustee who is sharing his knowledge of Heart Failure from a patient persepective

“Burnley heart failure patient mends his ‘broken heart’” (From Lancashire Telegraph) http://t.co/RzIRQayP

Trustee Shortlisted for Award

Nick who is the founding member of Pumping Marvellous and is a Heart Failure patient has been shortlisted for Burnley Borough Council‘s Annual Burnley Community Sports Awards for their Health Champion Award.

The letter from Burnley Borough Council says “The awards evening, at Burnley Mechanics famous theatre and venue aims to bring together people from the local community that have achieved or devoted time to sport, physical activity and their community. The evening recognises some of the fantastic time and effort that people put into developing Sport and Physical Activity within the community.”

The event will take place on Thursday 16th June at Burnley Mechanics Theatre and will be hosted by Tony Livesey the TV and Radio 5 live presenter.

Click here to see a link to a Press Article that ignited Pumping Marvellous.