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The tragic death of a schoolteacher from a cardiac arrest has inspired hospital nurses to offer basic life support training for primary schools for free.

 The volunteer initiative – thought to be the first of its kind in the country – involves hospital staff teaching primary school teachers basic life support, CPR, and the use of defibrillators along with training in anaphylaxis and choking.

 Kettering General Hospital’s Pleural Nurse Specialist Samantha Rawson was shocked when her lifelong friend, and a mother-of-three, died of a cardiac arrest in 2024.

 She wanted to do something meaningful in memory of her friend, whose family have asked for her not to be named,  and with the help of KGH Quality Excellence Lead Nurse Tanya Birke she has set up an initiative to do that.

 It involves 29 volunteers – drawn from staff at Kettering and Northampton general hospitals – who have now started to go to primary schools and deliver basic life support training to teachers in their spare time.

 Samantha said: “In November 2024 I lost my lifelong friend to a unexpected cardiac arrest. We grew up together, just six months apart, and went to the same secondary school.

 “She was joyful, kind, and selfless — someone who lit up every room. She was a devoted mum, a loving wife, and a passionate primary school teacher.

 “In the months that followed, I wanted to turn grief into something positive. My friend meant so much to me that I wanted to create a legacy in her memory.

 “Because she was a primary school teacher, I felt it was only right to focus on something that supported teachers like her. And because I am an Advanced Clinical Practitioner in pleural, I knew I could use my medical background to make a real difference.

 “After she suffered a cardiac arrest, shaping the project around these areas felt especially meaningful and that’s how this project began: to provide Basic Life Support (BLS) training to primary school teachers across Northamptonshire.

 “I partnered with my colleague Tanya Birke, whose expertise in resuscitation has been vital, and together, we contacted local schools and our colleagues at KGH and NGH and the response was overwhelming.

 “We now have 29 committed trainers, each pledging three years to support schools across the county, and have delivered our first two training sessions to some more than 80 teachers and teaching assistants.”

Tanya said: “We want to empower school staff with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to respond effectively in a medical emergency.

 “By offering hands-on training with clear guidance the programme ensures that school staff feel prepared and reassured when faced with emergency situations.

 “Through this initiative, we aim to strengthen emergency preparedness across primary schools in Northamptonshire and improve outcomes for children, staff, and the wider community.”

Simon Anderson is Head of School at Irchester Community Primary School which was one of the first two schools to benefit from the initiative.

He said: “We want to say thank you to the hospital resuscitation volunteers for an amazing night of training for our teachers and assistants.

“It was fantastic event and we feel privileged to have received it as part of this extraordinary volunteer initiative giving training to primary schools for free.

“It was enjoyable, and very well received, and enabled our team to develop some skills that could save a life.”

Also 15 teachers from Parklands Primary School in Northampton took part in the training yesterday (March 25) and learned how to deliver resuscitation to infants, children and adults, how to use a defibrillator, and how to address choking in children and adults.

The University Hospitals of Northamptonshire’s Deputy Director of Nursing Wayne Hurst is one of the volunteers and also holds a position on the steering group at the Resuscitation Council (UK). 

 He said: “The energy and excitement this project has created under the leadership of Sam and Tanya is a credit to them as registered professionals. This will raise skills for people in our local community to save a life and be 'resus ready' should the need ever be required.

 “This outreach work provided by our UHN colleagues to these schools shows our commitment to supporting our local community.”

 Funding has been provided to buy a training course and a defibrillator to take to schools paid for by Sam’s husband Tomas Cosgrove's firm AJS Asset Care, Holbeach. 

 Sam said: “This project is a legacy of love and learning — born from loss but built to save lives. Through every teacher trained and every life protected, her spirit lives on. Because that’s exactly what she would have wanted.”

 All volunteers have been funded to do an official basic life support instructors’ course with Resuscitation Council UK in addition to any clinical life-saving skills they may already have.