By David Saunders, Health Editor | UPDATED: 08:28, 26 June 2020
Two thirds of the UK are not first aid trained, and a further 40 per cent are not interested in training.
The study conducted by Virtual College investigated how well trained the UK is when it comes to first aid, they revealed that only 36 per cent of the UK was first aid trained. The stats also highlighted that 66 per cent wouldn’t feel confident in their ability to save someone’s life if they are called upon.
What is even more shocking is that 40 per cent of the UK are not interested in becoming trained in first aid at all.
The study ranked the cities for population with first aid trained, Liverpool claimed top spot with almost half (43 per cent) of their population being first aid trained, followed by Glasgow with 42 per cent, Brighton was third with 41 per cent, London fourth with 40 per cent and Cardiff rounded off the top five with 38 per cent.
Virtual College also ranked the lowest cities, Bristol came bottom with 23 per cent, followed by Nottingham 31 per cent, Southampton 32 per cent and Leeds with 33 per cent of their population being first aid trained.
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“Whether or not we would feel confident and comfortable to come to the aid of someone in a crisis is a question you might find yourself asking from time to time. These results are particularly interesting as we can clearly see the main reason that stops people from helping is that they do not know what to do. And at Virtual College, we can help with this. We offer a range of courses to businesses and individuals to ensure people are best equipped to deal with any crisis situation they may be presented with.”
Bristol is also the least likely to help with almost half (43 per cent) stating they wouldn’t help during a medical emergency.
The younger population show there is a positive future for first aid ahead with 41 per cent of 16-24 year olds currently trained.
And a further 76 per cent of the untrained stating they wish to receive training in the future.
The older generation didn’t show the same enthusiasm with 93 per cent of the 55+ generation not showing interest in becoming first aid trained, with a further 70 not being first aid trained.
Almost a third (31 per cent) of the UK stated they would not help and administer first aid to someone in a medical emergency.
Even more upsetting is that over half (56 per cent) of the UK had no one provide them with first aid when they needed it.
Additionally, 40 per cent of the UK stated that they regretted helping someone in a medical emergency.
The main reason to discourage someone from helping is that they didn’t know what to do with a third (30 per cent) of the UK population stating this. Seven per cent said they were scared for their own safety.
The fact that people are scared for their own safety can suggest why more men (36 per cent) than women (27 per cent) came to the aid of someone in an emergency.
One tenth of the UK wouldn’t stop and help someone who was stood on a bridge about to jump and take their own life. Leeds and Manchester are the least likely to help with over one in seven stating that they wouldn’t help.
Trained cities table by per cent:
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Liverpool (43%)
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Glasgow (41%)
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Brighton (41%)
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London (39%)
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Cardiff (38%)
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Sheffield (37%)
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Birmingham (37%)
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Belfast (36%)
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Norwich (34%)
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Edinburgh (34%)
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Plymouth (33%)
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Newcastle (33%)
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Manchester (33%)
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Leeds (33%)
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Southampton (31%)
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Nottingham (30%)
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Bristol (23%)
Cities that wouldn’t help some about to jump off a bridge table by per cent: UK (11%)
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Leeds (15%)
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Manchester (15%)
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London (14%)
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Liverpool (13%)
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Sheffield (12%)
Virtual College have created a graphic illustrating some interesting statistics from the study: