Bystanders on the life-saver front line

Figures released by North West Ambulance Service show a growing number of members of the public have the confidence and first aid skills - coupled with the increased availability of defibrillators - to make the soonest possible life-saving intervention before even the quickest 999 team can get there.

A cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly stops pumping blood round the body, starving the brain of oxygen and causing the patient to fall unconscious and stop breathing.

An NWAS report revealed that bystander CPR took place in eight out of 10 cases of arrests last year; a figure that stood at just over five out of 10 cases in 2014.

Chest compressions, rescue breaths and use of a defibrillator are the only way to help a person in cardiac arrest – without these the person will die.

Use of publicly accessible defibrillators has more than quadrupled in five years, but remains relatively low with community-based devices used on just 9.5 per cent of the eligible 3,591 patients.

Where resuscitation was attempted, men accounted for 65 per cent of cardiac arrest patients and women 35 per cent, with 66 years-old the average age of victims. However, cardiac arrest can happen to anyone at any time - 86 patients were children.

It takes the ambulance service six minutes on average to respond to these emergencies. But a person’s chance of survival decreased by around 10 per cent for every minute that passes without a resuscitation attempt.

Around one in 10 people survive an out of hospital cardiac arrest but where members of the public stepped in and successfully resuscitated a patient before the ambulance arrived, three quarters of people survived and were discharged from hospital.

Those resuscitated by a member of the public with defibrillator from the community were twice as likely to survive as those resuscitated by the ambulance service, showing that speed is of the essence in these situations.

With members of the public able to make a real difference to the lives of people in their communities, North West Ambulance Service has launched its new CardiacSmart accreditation scheme to celebrate and recognise those who actively help to increase survival rates from cardiac arrest.

Organisations, businesses, schools and other publicly accessible locations are invited to apply for CardiacSmart status by taking active steps to make their community safer and healthier.

Successful applicants will be awarded one of three levels of accreditation status; accredited, accredited+ and accredited partner, all of which are determined by specific criteria. This includes having a readily available defibrillator that is checked and maintained regularly and making a commitment to providing life-saving training.