First aid award

The zoo’s health & safety and first aid teams were named Leisure and Tourism Attraction of the Year at the 2015 Heart Safe Awards, which took place on 9th October at The Midland Hotel in Manchester.

The accolade recognises outstanding tourism and leisure establishments that have invested in life saving equipment and staff training to provide a safe environment for both employees and customers.

Chester Zoo employs over 350 permanent members of staff, 400 seasonal staff and more than 70 volunteers and is the UK’s most popular attraction outside of London - welcoming more than 1.4m visitors a year.

Ian McIntosh, health & safety manager at the zoo, said: “Only recently, an incident occurred whereby our first aid team used their vital skills and equipment when a visitor suddenly fell ill at the zoo, which resulted in our team saving their life. We’ve recently introduced Heart-Start training to all staff and have seen a huge interest in the workshops, which provide the essential skills and confidence to take action in an emergency.”