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The Save a Life Cymru programme

Save a Life Cymru – helping Wales become a nation of lifesavers with CPR and defibrillation

Every year, thousands of people in Wales suffer an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). In 2024, the Welsh Ambulance Service responded to 6,752 OHCAs, and resuscitation was started on 3,062 patients.

Why quick action matters

When someone collapses from a cardiac arrest, every second counts. Without CPR and defibrillation, survival chances drop by 10% every minute.
Cardiac arrest can happen anywhere, anytime, to anyone – at home, work, or out in the community.

What to do
  • Recognise that patient is not breathing or not breathing normally
  • Call 999
  • Start CPR immediately
  • Use a defibrillator if available
  • Keep going until help arrives

Doing something is always better than doing nothing.

About Save a Life Cymru

Established by Welsh Government in 2019, and now hosted by the Welsh Ambulance Services University NHS Trust, our mission is to:

  • Teach people what to do if cardiac arrest happens
  • Encourage more people to try CPR
  • Improve understanding and use of defibrillators
  • Make survival chances equal across Wales
Learn CPR today - together, we can save lives.