144 students have raised almost £3,000 at a charity event for the North West Air Ambulance Charity. 

The 24-hour CPR marathon event, organised by the LJMU Paramedic Society, saw its 89 members plus other LJMU students and staff, practice lifesaving Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) for 24 hours in the Student Life Building. Over 144 people took part, raising almost £3,000.

Students taking part performed 2 minutes of CPR in rotation, as per best practice guidelines to avoid fatigue and ensure effective chest compressions.  

Olli Lodmore, President of the LJMU Paramedic Society, explains why the society chose the North West Air Ambulance Charity to fundraise for:- “As student paramedics, most of us will have attended incidents with the air ambulance at some point over our 3-year course. The care that they bring to some of the worst scenes you can think of is so compassionate, and frankly amazing. They require £18,000,000 a year to operate and receive no government funding, we therefore wanted to hold this fundraiser at LJMU and raise as much money as possible for them so that they can continue to provide lifesaving care to the public in the North West.” 

The fundraiser saw the students powering through the early AM slots, or as they renamed them; the ‘graveyard’ shift.  

Olli said:- “We have incredible members who covered slots up until 5am, then our amazing committee scrubbed in and covered the 5,6,7am slots. It would be a lie to say we weren’t tired by the end. I'm incredibly proud of our student paramedics at LJMU for coming along, getting involved in a multitude of ways and doing it all with a smile on their face. Our initial fundraising target was £500, and we watched it go way past that, then our 2ond goal of £1500 was smashed as well! There's also something incredibly heart-warming about reading all the donation messages from people's families encouraging them.” 

You can donate the the LJMU Paramedic Society’s fundraiser for the North West Air Ambulance Charity here. 

To find out more about how to save a life using CPR or defibrillators, the British Heart Foundation website has a wealth of information, training resources and advice. 

You can find out more about studying Paramedic Science at LJMU here.