NOW firmly into its fifth year of operations, during which time it has trained close to 750 members of the community in Emergency Life Support (ELS) skills, Heartstart Farnham Lions will hold its 82nd free class on January 11.

Cardiac arrest is the ultimate medical emergency; what happens (or doesn’t) in the few minutes after someone collapses greatly affects the outcome of life or death.

Heartstart, an initiative of the British Heart Foundation, is aimed at equipping ordinary people with the skills to respond to such a situation and provide life-saving aid to a loved one, a friend, or even a stranger on the street.

Farnham Lions Club is driving this initiative forward, which, together with the club’s involvement in installing publicly accessible defibrillators (PADs) around the town (10 to date), should make it one of the most survivable environments in the country in which to have a heart attack or cardiac arrest.

Free classes will take place on January 11 and 25; February 8 and 22, and March 8 and 22. Further class dates will be announced in the local press in early March.

All classes take place at the St John Ambulance Hall, near Waitrose, Farnham, on Wednesday evenings, commencing at 7pm and lasting around two-and-a-half hours.

Each class delivers the whole course. They are free, although donations towards expenses are welcome should they be offered.

See website heartstartfarnhamlions.co.uk or email heart

[email protected] for further information and to reserve a place.