St John Ambulance launches choking first aid campaign after research shows knowledge gap
St John Ambulance is teaching choking first aid after research found most people lack the skills, with a survivor urging others to get trained.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
St John Ambulance has launched a new campaign to teach people how to help someone who is choking, after research found that more than half of the public would not know what to do. The charity says nearly 300 people die from choking every year in England, and is urging more people to learn life-saving techniques.
During a television segment, Dr Semia Aziz, a medical expert, demonstrated the correct procedure. She explained that if someone is choking, you should first give five back blows between the shoulder blades with the heel of your hand. If that does not work, you should then perform five abdominal thrusts, pulling inwards and upwards just above the belly button. She stressed that the treatment is life-saving and that people should not worry about doing something wrong.
The campaign also heard from Callum Glen, who described how he used his first aid training to help a woman who was choking in a restaurant. He said he noticed she was clutching her throat and, after taking over from a waitress, performed back blows until she recovered. He said the training came naturally and urged everyone to get trained because 'the impact that you can have in the first instance at the first intervention is possibly most important.'
St John Ambulance is encouraging people to learn these simple steps, which can be the difference between life and death. The charity also offered advice on what to do if you are alone and choking, such as leaning over a chair to try to dislodge the object.
On screen
Stills are sampled automatically at 60-second intervals. Where shown, the still is the nearest available frame from the relevant broadcast segment and is included to show what was on screen during that part of the broadcast. A still may not correspond to the exact second of a quoted phrase.
Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, mapped by channel. Ordered by how many channels carried each claim.
| Claim | Channel 5 |
|---|---|
| Nearly 300 people die from choking each year in England. | |
| Over half of people do not know how to help someone who is choking. | |
| St John Ambulance called for more people to be taught life-saving skills. |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
This segment combined practical instruction with a real-life success story. It featured a live demonstration by Dr Semia Aziz, giving step-by-step guidance, and an interview with Callum Glen, who described how he saved a woman using first aid. The tone was instructive and reassuring, aiming to convince viewers that they too can learn these skills.
- “Would you know what to do if you saw someone choking or if you started choking more than half of us don't according to new research from St John Ambulance.”
- “I think everyone if they can should take opportunity to get to stay trained because the impact that you can have in the first instance at the first intervention is possibly most important.”
- “I think it's a life-saving treatment so I wouldn't you know even worry about that at all the main thing is dislodging the actual foreign body.”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.