World Restart a Heart day: The expanding role for UK Medical Schools.

O’Donnell A1, Alderman JE1,2, Lockey A3. 

1)	College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, UK. B15 2TU
2)	Department of Anaesthesia and Critical Care, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, UK. B15 2TT
3)	Resuscitation Council (UK), WC1H 9HR

Introduction
Restart a Heart (RSAH) is a global initiative aimed at teaching lifesaving cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to as many people as possible.1 In 2018 the project aimed to teach over 200,000 people CPR on or around the RSAH day, as well as generate media and social media coverage.2 Traditionally, the UK’s RSAH had been organised collaboratively by the Resuscitation Council (UK), British Red Cross, British Heart Foundation and St John Ambulance. For 2018, the collaborative included Medical Schools in the national RSAH strategy for the first time.

Materials and methods
Medical student representatives from universities across the UK met to share experiences from their individual 2017 RSAH events and plan a series of collaborative events. A student taskforce was formed with representatives from several interested medical schools, which fed into the national strategy committee for the overall project, enabling idea sharing and group problem solving. Students played a key role in national strategy and leadership for the first time.

Results
Five medical schools participated with RSAH day 2018: The University of Birmingham trained 1322 people (1006 of these in collaboration with the West Midlands Ambulance Service), the University of Bristol trained 309, the University of Leeds trained 1086, the University of Southampton trained 642 and Swansea University trained 492. A total of 2,845 people were taught CPR by medical students on RSAH day 2018, with events held at university campuses, shopping centres and in local schools. Feedback from medical students involved was wholly positive, stating members of the public enjoyed being taught by students and that their confidence in CPR skills had increased.

Conclusions
Medical schools’ involvement in the 2018 RSAH initiative was instrumental in its ongoing growth and development. The student group’s 2019 strategy aims to involve more universities to build on the successes of 2018. 

References list
1.	Resuscitation Council UK. 2018 Restart a Heart Campaign Launched. 2018 [cited April 2019]. Available from: https://www.resus.org.uk/media/press-releases/2018-restart-a-heart-campaign-launched/ 
2.	International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR) online. World Restart a Heart Day. 2018 [cited March 2018]. Available from: www.ilcor.org/wrah

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