Friday 16 October is Restart a Heart Day. Every year, organisations across the UK use the day to teach as many people as possible how to do CPR, because when someone’s heart stops, the people standing nearest to them are the ones who can change the outcome.
In the UK, fewer than one in ten people survive a cardiac arrest outside hospital. That figure is not fixed. Where more members of the public know CPR and can get a defibrillator quickly, more people survive. Most of that difference is made in the minutes before an ambulance arrives.
I see this from the fire service side. I have arrived at incidents where a bystander had already started chest compressions, and at incidents where nobody had. The difference in what we could do next was obvious.
What to do if someone collapses
The steps are simpler than most people expect.
- Check for a response and normal breathing. If the person is unresponsive and not breathing normally, treat it as a cardiac arrest. Occasional gasping is not normal breathing, and it is one of the most common reasons people hold back.
- Call 999 and put the phone on speaker. The call handler can talk you through CPR and may be able to tell you where the nearest defibrillator is.
- Push hard and fast in the centre of the chest, at around 100 to 120 compressions a minute and about 5 to 6 cm deep. Keep going until help takes over or the person starts to show signs of life.
- Send someone for a defibrillator. Switch it on and follow the spoken instructions. A public access defibrillator will only deliver a shock if one is needed.
The worry I hear most often is about getting it wrong. Someone in cardiac arrest is already in the worst possible position, and without CPR their chances fall with every minute. Doing something is far better than doing nothing.
Know where your nearest defibrillator is
A defibrillator only helps if people can find it. If your business or community group has one, check that it is registered on The Circuit, the national defibrillator network, so that ambulance services can direct callers to it. Check the pads and battery are in date too.
Getting trained
Reading a list of steps is a start, but most people freeze the first time unless they have practised on a manikin. New Forest First Aid Training delivers workplace first aid across Hampshire, Dorset and Wiltshire, and CPR and defibrillator use sit at the centre of every course. Through Tomorrows Lifesavers, we teach the same skills to children in schools, who often go home and show their families.
If you would like your team trained, or want a session for your school, get in touch.