I Heroic nurse Aoife McGivney helps launch a programme that will teach 100,000 people CPR.

Aoife McGiveny has been hailed a hero after she saved the life of a Dublin Bus driver who suffered a cardiac emergency at the wheel of the vehicle. Today, Aoife got behind Hands for Life, a free training programme that aims to teach CPR to 100,000 people across Ireland. Introduced by the Irish Heart Foundation, Hands for Life will hold training programmes in community centres, libraries and clubs throughout Ireland over the next 24 months.

Heroic nurse, Aoife McGivney, who recently saved the life of a bus driver who was suffering a cardiac emergency launched our new free community CPR training programme #HandsforLife. Sign up at https://t.co/LtLIIzrcak Supported by @AbbottNews and @ESBNetworks pic.twitter.com/AnVIBJm7de

— Irish Heart Foundation (@Irishheart_ie) March 19, 2019

Speaking at the launch today, Aoife said:

 “The day started out like any other for me, getting on the bus to work in the morning. But before long, I found myself on the footpath on O’Connell Street performing CPR on the bus driver. Thankfully, he survived and nobody was hurt. "I was lucky enough to know what to do in the situation and my training kicked in instinctively. I know first-hand how important it is to know CPR and that it can be the difference between life and death. I hope that others will be inspired by my story to learn CPR through the Irish Heart Foundation’s Hands for Life free community CPR training courses, supported by Abbott and ESB Networks".

Tim Collins, CEO of the Irish Heart Foundation, also commented:

"Every day in Ireland 13 people die from a cardiac arrest. Around 70 per cent of these happen at home in front of a loved one. If there is someone nearby who knows CPR and can start performing compressions quickly, you can double or even triple a person’s chances of survival. “At the Irish Heart Foundation, we are on a mission to save lives. We want to create a nation of lifesavers by training as many people as possible in the lifesaving skill of CPR".

"Every day in Ireland 13 people die from a cardiac arrest. If there is someone nearby who knows CPR and can start performing compressions quickly, you can double or even triple a person’s chances of survival" - CEO Tim Collins #HandsForLife @Abbottnews @ESBNetworks pic.twitter.com/e4DmwNkbUH

— Irish Heart Foundation (@Irishheart_ie) March 19, 2019