CPR and AED Awareness Week 2026: A Week of First Aid, and What Comes Next
Written by Stephanie Austin — Owner & Lead Trainer, Prima Cura Training | Last reviewed: June 2026 | Next review: June 2027
CPR and AED Awareness Week 2026: A Week of First Aid, and What Comes Next
CPR and AED Awareness Week 2026 wrapped up on Sunday. Seven days. Seven blogs. One straightforward aim: to put more useful, accurate information about CPR, AEDs, and first aid into the hands of people who need it.
Every year, around 115,000 people in England suffer an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Fewer than one in ten survive. The gap between that figure and what it could be is almost entirely filled by one thing: whether a trained person was nearby and whether they acted.
That is not a statistic to sit with and feel helpless about. It is a problem with a very practical solution. This week was our contribution to it.
Here is everything we published, with a brief note on why each piece matters.
Everything We Published This Week
| 1 June | The Training That Saved a Life in a Manchester Car Park. The story of Kieren Robinson, who used his first aid training to save a colleague’s life. Because this is what training is actually for. |
| 2 June | The Weakest Link: Why Bystander Action Is the Variable That Changes Everything. A breakdown of the chain of survival and why the two links that matter most are the ones bystanders control. Anchored by the story of training over 1,000 NHS Test and Trace staff during the pandemic. |
| 3 June | Nobody Jumps Six Feet in the Air: The AED Myths I Hear Every Single Training Day. AED myths busted with the 2025 RCUK guidelines. Including the one about needing training to use one (you do not), and the one about the body flying off the ground (it does not). |
| 4 June | He Caught His Finger on a Cutting Tool. I Was the Most Experienced First Aider On-Site. What first aid at work actually looks like in practice. Employer obligations, RIDDOR, first aid needs assessments, and why a certificate on the wall is not the same as a prepared first aider. |
| 5 June | Three Years Is the Validity. Here’s What the Research Says About Month Three. The evidence on CPR skill decay, why the primary survey fades, what social media misinformation is doing to first aid knowledge, and what a good refresher session actually does. |
| 6 June | Children Are Not Small Adults: What the 2025 Guidelines Changed Paediatric CPR differences explained: the new RCUK 2025 age categories, five rescue breaths before compressions, AED use in children, and what EYFS settings are legally required to have in place from September 2025. |
| 7 June | Care Certificate Standard 12: Basic Life Support For care sector staff and employers: what Standard 12 of the Care Certificate covers, what competency looks like in practice, and how BLS training integrates with your organisation’s own policies and procedures. |
For Employers: If This Week Prompted Any Questions
If anything you read this week made you think about your own team’s readiness, that is exactly the right response to have. The questions worth sitting with are these:
- Do you know when your first aiders last renewed their training?
- Has your team practised CPR on a manikin in the last twelve months?
- Do your staff know where the nearest AED is, and have they ever used a training device?
- Is your first aid provision proportionate to your actual workplace hazards?
- Are your accident reporting systems fit for purpose?
If the answer to any of those is no, or not sure, a conversation costs nothing.
Our employer first aid guidance covers the legal framework, how to carry out a first aid needs assessment, and what good provision looks like for organisations of different sizes and risk profiles. It is a good starting point if you want to get your first aid provision right rather than simply compliant.
What to Do Next
All of the courses referenced across this week’s blogs are available to book now. We deliver across Greater Manchester and the North West, with associate trainers covering the Midlands, Surrey, London, and beyond.
Every course Prima Cura delivers is built around your organisation. We ask about your setting, your team, and your policies before we arrive. You get training that reflects your actual environment, not a generic scenario that could belong to anyone.
| Courses referenced this week: Basic Life Support and AED – annual refresher for EFAW and FAW certificate holders, and for any team that wants hands-on CPR and AED competence Emergency First Aid at Work – one day, meets requirements for low-risk environments First Aid at Work – three days, meets HSE requirements for high-hazard environments and larger teams Paediatric First Aid – two days, meets EYFS statutory requirements for early years registered providers To discuss your requirements or book a course, get in touch: 0333 999 8783 info@primacuratraining.co.uk primacuratraining.co.uk Engage. Educate. Empower. |
| “The people who step forward when something goes wrong are not, as a rule, braver than anyone else. They are just better prepared.” Stephanie Austin, Owner and Lead Trainer, Prima Cura Training |
This post is a round-up of content published by Prima Cura Training during CPR and AED Awareness Week, 1 to 7 June 2026. Statistics cited across the series are sourced from the Resuscitation Council UK, the British Heart Foundation, the Health and Safety Executive, and peer-reviewed research as referenced in individual posts. All clinical guidance is based on the Resuscitation Council UK Adult Basic Life Support and Paediatric Life Support Guidelines 2025. Employer obligations referenced are based on the Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981 and associated HSE guidance. EYFS requirements are based on the Department for Education statutory framework, effective 1 September 2025. None of the content in this series constitutes medical or legal advice. In a medical emergency, call 999 immediately.
