TEAM members at Rumwell Farm Shop in Somerset have recently received vital training in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) from experts at Dorset & Somerset Air Ambulance (DSAA) so they can help save lives (August 2025).
Staff at the Farm Shop, on the A38 between Taunton and Wellington, were given guidance to allow them to assist if someone is unconscious and not breathing normally before an ambulance arrives.
Anne Mitchell, Partner at Rumwell Farm Shop, says: “We have been fundraising for DSAA for seven months now, as it is our Charity of the Year, and we have learnt how vital CPR is in that time. It could help save the life of someone shopping or dining here with us, or one of our colleagues.
“It’s brilliant that we now have team members onsite who are fully trained in CPR, including myself, thanks to the charity’s help. We are also a host for one of DSAA’s defibrillators, which is essential in helping when someone may have collapsed and is breathing irregularly too.”
DSAA, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year and is predominantly funded by donations from the general public, provides lifesaving, pre-hospital critical care, to patients in need.
Its team of highly skilled pilots, critical care practitioners, nurses, and doctors are operational for 19 hours a day, 365 days a year; together they work tirelessly to save lives in the area.
Supporter Engagement Officer for Somerset for the DSAA, Charlotte Humber, explains: “Rumwell Farm Shop already has one of our defibrillators onsite, which is wonderful, and now the team has received CPR training, they can give even more assistance if a medical emergency arises.
“Despite the extraordinary medical treatments our crew can provide when they arrive on the scene, anyone suffering an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest needs help from the community around them if they are to stand a chance of surviving.
“As part of the chain of survival, CPR and defibrillation before an ambulance arrives can double a patient’s chances of surviving a cardiac arrest.
“To reduce avoidable deaths in the communities that we serve, our goal for anyone who suffers a cardiac arrest is to receive immediate CPR and then defibrillation as quickly as possible. Each one-minute delay decreases their survival chances by another 10 percent, so defibrillators need to be close by, be publicly available and used when time is critical.”
For further details, please visit www.rumwellfarmshop.com. For more on Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance, please visit www.dsairambulance.org.uk.
