Last Week, Rebecca joined the Essex and Herts Air Ambulance at their Charity Shop on Furtherwick Road in Canvey, just along from the Knightswick Shopping Centre.
Rebecca met with their amazing group of volunteers during a CPR workshop hosted by the charity. The workshop taught the importance of CPR and how responding in the first few minutes after a cardiac arrest can make all the difference. Participants were shown the correct technique for performing CPR, should they ever be in a situation where someone needs their help.
The importance of such training is clear. Each year, around 35,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occur in the UK, with survival rates below 10%. Every minute without CPR reduces the chance of survival by a further 10%, making early intervention critical.
In the next few weeks, a public-access defibrillator is set to be installed at the shop, ready and waiting for the day it may be needed.
Rebecca also recently met with the charity in Parliament to discuss the importance of CPR training kits in schools.
At the event were two Essex sixth-form students who became CPR Champions themselves in March 2026 after expert training from Essex & Herts Air Ambulance’s CPR Smart clinical team. They were in Parliament to ask for support for local schools to access funding for CPR training kits and to talk about the charity’s CPR Smart™ programme, which offers free CPR and defibrillator training to schools across Essex and Hertfordshire.
The kits cost approx. £2,500 and include mannequins and a training defibrillator, allowing them to train other year groups and run regular refreshers.
Should you wish to find out more about the work of Essex and Herts Air Ambulance, you can do so here: https://ehaat.org
Rebecca said: "When you look at the statistics of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests, it becomes clear how essential CPR training is. It is because of the work carried out by Essex and Herts Air Ambulance that those who do unfortunately suffer a cardiac arrest have an increased chance of receiving the treatment in the critical moments that follow."
"A big thank you to all the superb volunteers at the Canvey charity shop and to everyone at Essex and Herts Air Ambulance. You are all doing truly life-saving work day in and day out."
