When every second counts: Why CPR training needs to be a workplace priority

But then again, we don’t plan for cardiac arrest either.

Just over two weeks ago, my fit and healthy husband collapsed at the gym (Carrefour Metro). He was on the rowing machine, something he’s done a hundred times before, when his heart suddenly stopped and he fell to the floor. No warning. A ventricular fibrillation cardiac arrest, to be exact.

Three people at the gym, Chris, Stefan, and Tony, rushed to him immediately. They didn’t freeze. They didn’t wait for someone else. They started CPR and kept going, for ten whole minutes, until the paramedics arrived. I’m told it took another eleven minutes before they could resuscitate him.

That’s twenty-one minutes.

Twenty-one minutes where his heart wasn’t doing what it should. And yet he’s still with us. He was put into an induced coma for a week, breathing thanks to a ventilator. I can hardly believe I’m writing those words.

Then he was awake, recovering, slowly, steadily, breathing unassisted, being able to speak, sitting in a chair, eating, and drinking, and walking the ward.

His short-term memory is a bit wobbly, but even that’s improving. He’s cracking jokes. Asking for Glenn Miller. It’s surreal. It’s also… miraculous.

But here’s the thing: it wasn’t luck. It wasn’t magic. It was action. CPR saved his life.

And that’s what I’d like to talk about.

Because it didn’t happen in a hospital. Or during surgery. It happened in a gym. And honestly, it could’ve happened in an office. A café. A corridor. Anywhere.

Cardiac arrests don’t wait for ideal settings. They happen where people are. Which means, they happen at work. And the first few minutes? They’re everything.

Health and Safety training is an imperative in every workplace. It’s the foundation of duty of care. But is it fully understood? I’m not sure. In many organisations, it’s still treated as compliance – risk assessments, fire drills, a first aid course. But does it truly register? Does it feel real until it’s urgently needed – until you’re calling for help, watching someone collapse, wondering if anyone nearby knows CPR? In that moment, it’s no longer a checklist. It’s everything.

I’ve worked in senior leadership and in recent years in wellbeing, for years. I understand the theory, the stats, the protocols. I’ve lived through cancer. I know what crisis feels like. But CPR? I knew the facts. I knew how it works. Yet none of it truly registered until it happened to us. Until I stood on the end of the line, willing his heart to keep beating. That’s when the reality hit. This isn’t abstract. It’s not theoretical. It was terrifying. And it’s also preventable – if, and only if, the people around you know what to do.

So, let’s talk plainly. Why should workplaces care about CPR?

The most obvious answer is because it could save a colleague’s life. But that’s only part of it. It’s also about creating a culture where people are ready. Where they don’t hesitate.

Let’s face it, workplace wellbeing is a broad, sometimes vague concept. We talk about burnout, stress, inclusion (and rightly so). But emergency preparedness? It often gets left out of the conversation, and in the hands of Health and Safety.

Maybe because it feels too practical. Too physical. A little uncomfortable, even.

But CPR isn’t just first aid. It’s first response. And it’s about leadership.

Leadership that looks like being ready, like knowing what to do, like stepping in when someone’s life is quite literally on the line.

People may think:

“We’ll call an ambulance.”

“We have a first aider.”

“It probably won’t happen here.”

Hopefully not. But cardiac arrest doesn’t wait. By the time emergency services arrive, precious time may already be lost. And relying on one trained person in a team of 50? That’s a gamble.

Most businesses may feel they have this covered – and to a point, they’re right. Health and safety regulations require first aiders, emergency plans, even defibrillators in some environments. But compliance doesn’t guarantee readiness. It doesn’t mean the person next to you knows CPR. Or that enough people in the building would feel confident stepping in. What’s needed isn’t just a box ticked – it’s a culture shift, from minimum standards to meaningful preparedness.

So, here’s what I’m suggesting – not as an expert, but as someone who’s just lived it:

• Train more people. Not just one or two. Make it part of your workplace culture.
• Let it be normal. Something you just do, like a fire drill. Something people don’t feel awkward or squeamish about. Because one day, it might be them who needs it. Or someone they care about.

My husband is strong. He’s always looked after himself, stayed active, gave up smoking long ago, doesn’t drink anymore, even switched to decaf. All those decisions, made steadily over time, are helping him now. These actions didn’t prevent the ventricular fibrillation cardiac arrest –sometimes things just happen, even to professional footballers on the field – but they’ve given him a fighting chance at recovery. I can’t help but think, this is the quiet payoff of all those ‘wellbeing’ choices that often go unnoticed… until they matter more than anything.

Of course, there are practical things businesses can do right away:

• Book CPR training sessions for teams. Local providers make it easy and affordable.
• Ensure your AED (automated external defibrillator) is working, visible, and that people know where it is.
• Add CPR awareness to onboarding, induction, even team meetings from time to time.
• Talk about it. Make it something you can talk about.

None of this is complicated. But it does take intention. And a bit of time. A bit of money. Still, compared to the cost of losing someone, and I mean that in every sense, it’s not even close.

Until it happens to you…

We all know the importance of CPR. Of health and safety. Of wellbeing. We’ve read the policies, attended the sessions, even delivered the training. But until it happens to you – or someone you love – you don’t really feel it. You don’t understand how fast everything can change. How vital it is to be ready. How every second counts.

And how someone, somewhere, being trained and willing to act can be the reason your story doesn’t end. I’m so grateful to those three heroes. I don’t know how you ever say thank you for something like that. But what I can do is use my voice, and say this to others:

Train your teams. Prepare your people.

Because it’s not just a skill. It’s a lifeline. And one day, it might be your lifeline.

Or your colleague’s. Or someone you love.

And when that moment comes, every second will count.

Main picture: Hero Chris with John, taken just 3 days after John came out of his coma.