PUPILS in secondary schools should receive compulsory life-saving training, the SDLP has urged.
The party is launching a consultation on legislation that would introduce CPR and automated external defibrillator (AED) training in schools.
Assembly member Colin McGrath is sponsoring the legislation in response to low cardiac arrest survival rates.
"Every year, around 1,400 people in Northern Ireland will experience a cardiac arrest outside of a hospital setting. As things stand, fewer than one in 10 can expect to survive. That is a terrifying statistic and it lags far behind the average survival rate in other developed nations," Mr McGrath said.
"Research conducted by the Resuscitation Council shows, worryingly, that fewer than half of people would intervene if they saw someone collapse. That is due, in large part, to a lack of confidence in administering lifesaving aid because we don't teach CPR in our schools."
