The countdown is on to October’s Restart a Heart campaign, a nationwide initiative dedicated to improving survival rates from out-of-hospital cardiac arrests. We’re calling on all leisure centre and pool operators to participate.

Approximately 100,000 people suffer an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest every year. That equates to around 250 individuals every day. Survival rates are stubbornly low, with just one in 10 people recovering, but we can all make a difference.

As long-term partners of the Resuscitation Council UK, drivers of the annual Restart a Heart campaign, we’re asking operators and the wider leisure industry to mark the campaign by delivering CPR skills and defibrillator awareness to their customers and the public on Thursday 16 October 2025.

Why should you get involved with Restart a Heart?

Sports and leisure centres sit at the heart of our communities. Trusted by the public, you already have staff, especially lifeguards, with the training and experience to teach these life-saving techniques. And most importantly of all - Restart a Heart on 16 October is a great opportunity to give something back to your customers and the public. Something that could save lives.

A staggering 80% of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests take place in the home. CPR is a skill for everyone, yet almost half of UK adults (43 per cent) have never learned these techniques. Every minute without CPR and defibrillation reduces the chance of survival from cardiac arrest by 10%. By providing training and awareness opportunities as well as the resources to teach people how to react when someone collapses and stops breathing normally, we can save lives, both now and in the future.

Andy Read, former Head of Safety at Places Leisure, is a leading figure in UK swimming pool safety management. He served on the ukactive Governance and Standards Committee, was chair of the Leisure Expert Panel, and acts as an independent RLSS UK Operator Group member. He is a massive advocate of Restart a Heart.

“At Places Leisure, I oversaw the rollout of defibrillators across more than 150 leisure centres in the early 2000s, never imagining I would one day need one myself. In August 2018, my life was saved with four shocks from a defibrillator. That’s why supporting Restart a Heart means so much to me,” he says.

After his cardiac arrest, Read helped to establish Sudbury Defibrillators, a nationally registered charity dedicated to increasing public access to defibrillators, which he now chairs.

“Leisure centres were among the first to install defibrillators in public places. They’ve extended their role to educating communities and maintaining and sustaining defibrillators. In many cases, leisure centres are the leading source of community training. With a more coordinated approach, especially around initiatives like Restart a Heart, they could have even greater impact,” he says.

 

How can you get involved in Restart a Heart?

The great news is that RLSS UK has produced many resources to make it easy for you to get involved with the campaign. Accessed via a dedicated webpage www.rlss.org.uk/restart-a-heart-resources, these include an information video for display in reception areas, wallet-sized cards detailing how to perform CPR, editable posters to promote activities, customisable social media graphics, a sample press release and social media posts.

You can engage your community in many ways in Restart a Heart on 16 October. Here are just a few ideas:

• Run a Save a Life Series workshop. If you host a donation-based Save a Life Series workshop, free wallet-sized cards (z-cards) are available via the RLSS UK Shop.
• Organise staff demonstrations of CPR techniques on mannequins in your reception area.
• Create a fun, CPR-themed challenge, such as a 12-hour CPRathon, or host a CPR quiz.
• Create a public display area with posters demonstrating the correct way to perform CPR (available in the resources pack)
• Invite community groups such as adult carers, new mums, and local sports coaches to attend a CPR or AED workshop.
• Create a ‘Learn CPR’ session to use in your swimming, family pool, or other sporting programmes.

Be loud and proud and promote what you’re doing for Restart a Heart through your social media accounts and local community groups, platforms, and forums. Distribute posters, send a press release to your local media outlets, and ensure you’re included in local event listings. You can also promote your activities via the RLSS UK website here.

Anyone can be affected by a cardiac arrest at any time. Every minute without CPR and defibrillation reduces the chance of surviving a cardiac arrest by 10%. Feel confident and ready to act when every second counts. Restart a Heart on 16 October is a fantastic opportunity to give something back to your community, to deliver life-saving skills so that people feel confident and ready to act when every second counts. Get involved and help improve cardiac arrest survival rates across the UK.

Restart a Heart takes place on 16 October 2025, and events will run throughout the month to celebrate the campaign. For more information or to get involved, contact [email protected].