Our Health & Wellbeing
In consultation with Axbridge and Wedmore Medical Practice and with the support of Wedmore Parish Council here is this month’s item relating to our health & wellbeing.
An unexpected turn of events.
We really enjoy visiting National Trust properties; other brands are available! We love the leisurely walk around a stately home with its opulent trappings. We can imagine the life of wealth and privilege for those upstairs and a life of hard toil for those downstairs. Then there is the relaxing stroll around the immaculately manicured gardens followed by a cream tea. These days many of these properties have a second-hand bookshop for browsing and buying books you didn’t know you wanted. All in all, it is usually a very pleasant and relaxing day out.
And so it was on this occasion, until we had reached the ‘browsing around the bookshop’ stage, when the course of our day changed in an instant. Just a few feet away a man collapsed. We waited a few moments for him to move or get up but he didn’t. He was quite still. We walked towards him, along with another customer in the shop. At that point we realized all was not well. Then what we had learnt at our recent First Aid & CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) training kicked in. The other customer had also had similar training and between the three of us we did what we could to support this gentleman until professional help arrived. We notified National Trust staff and they brought the AED (defibrillator). Another customer dialled 999. We then took it in turns to perform chest compressions and found out for ourselves how tiring this can be. When the professionals arrived, they took over the management of this man’s care, but included us in the team to continue to perform CPR. He was then airlifted to hospital. We do not know how this gentleman fared, but we both felt that we may have played a small part in giving him the best possible chance of a recovery.
However, we DO know that a full recovery IS possible in the right circumstances for some people when their heart stops. A friend was lucky enough to be given CPR when she collapsed at a dance! She is now not only dancing again but teaching Step classes! So, if you are offered the opportunity to attend a class for First Aid & CPR, give it a go. We volunteers for Isle of Wedmore Good Neighbours will be offered our regular annual update to refresh our knowledge. Perhaps other organisations might want to offer the same?
According to Patient Access, and as we found out, ’Cardiac arrest can happen to anyone, anywhere, at any time – and without warning.’ They also say that ‘Knowing how to perform CPR could double someone’s chances of surviving it.’ This is because ‘CPR can keep your blood pumping until professional medical help arrives.’
Find out more from Patient Access. Save a life learn CPR https://patient.info/news-and-features/the-importance-of-learning-cpr
The NHS website gives further information about how to perform CPR with or without rescue breaths. https://www.nhs.uk/tests-and-treatments/first-aid/cpr/
The Resuscitation Council is ‘working towards the day when everyone in the UK has the skills they need to save a life’. The resuscitation council has online training materials. https://www.resus.org.uk/
The British Heart Foundation also has a 15 minute online course, giving an overview of these skills. Click here
For more information on CPR visit these websites or contact me if you are interested in joining a class – there may be spaces available. Another recommendation would be to check out where our local defibrillators are located. I know of three in Wedmore, three in Theale (they’re listed on www.theale.ws) and one in Blackford. You may know of more! You never know when you might need one!
Support for people with dementia and their carers in Wedmore
Carer’s Group
Do you care for or support a person living with dementia? Then this friendly informative group is for you! Come along on the first Friday of the month to The Swan Hotel, Wedmore between 10am and 12md, next meeting on 7th November 2025. If you want to find out more about the Memories Workshops and Carers’ Group, phone HeadsUp on 01749 670667 or email wedmorecarers@yahoo.com If you need help with funding for attending HeadsUp, just ask, help may be available.
Coffee and a Chat
For general support with mental wellbeing Somewhere House, a charity based in Burnham, visits The Bluebird Café in Wedmore on the first Wednesday of the month, from 10-12md. They offer an opportunity to meet and chat. For more information contact them on 01278 780769
Cathy Butterworth
Wedmore Health & Wellbeing Project
01934 806266