Scottish Troops Arm Themselves With Life-Saving Skills

105th Regiment Royal Artillery are mostly known for preserving tradition by firing Edinburgh’s famous one o’ clock gun, but now they are joining forces to help preserve lives.

The regiment has signed up to the Save a Life Scotland scheme that aims to train more people in CPR and defibrillator use.

Professionals from the Scottish Ambulance Service are helping the whole regiment get trained in CPR and using lifesaving defibrillators.

The plan is that once the regiment has trained they can share their knowledge they’ve learned.

It’s an important undertaking for 105th Regiment Royal Artillery as every year over 3,500 people around Scotland are treated for having a cardiac arrest, sadly only 1 in 20 people survive.

By training more people in out of hospital care for cardiac arrests, the hope is that survival rates will be doubled across the country within five years. That means that 300 more lives would be saved annually compared to recent years.

To kick of the campaign, three new defibrillator machines have been installed at the castle, and they’ve already proven their worth.  

One day after receiving his training, Alex Farquharson from the MOD Guard Service was called into action when an Australian tourist collapsed at the castle.

The ultimate aim is to equip an additional 500,000 people with CPR skills by 2020, and 105th Regiment Royal Artillery are doing their bit in achieving Save a Life Scotland’s goal.