South Central Ambulance CPR app sees huge spike in downloads

One of our area's ambulance services has reported a huge rise in the number of people using an app to help with CPR.

The Save a Life app, developed by South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS) has seen a 1,300% increase in downloads since Christian Eriksen's cardiac arrest at Euro 2020.

The app also shows people where the nearest defibrillator is.

It uses GPS navigation to locate the nearest automated external defibrillator (AED) as well as a list of others in the area and features videos, instructions and a question-and-answer section.

CPR has become a hot topic of discussion this month when Inter Milan ace Eriksen suffered a cardiac arrest on the pitch during his country’s clash with Finland and had immediate life-saving assistance from players and medics.

What is cardiac arrest? It is when the heart stops pumping blood around the body.

What does CPR do?CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation helps to pump blood around the person's body when their heart can not

What does a defibrillator do? – the device delivesr an electric current to shock the heart muscle

This technique and equipment allows anyone to provide immediate assistance to people prior to the arrival of emergency services.

Around 60,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCA) occur in the UK every year and emergency services attempt resuscitation in around half – but just one in 10 people survive to hospital discharge.

However, chances of survival are two to three times higher with immediate bystander CPR.

Nicola Dunbar, Head of Community Engagement and Training at SCAS commented:

“The effects are clear not just from the support Christian has received internationally but also as far as the likes of our own organisation, where downloads of our Save a Life CPR and AED app rose by more than 1,000 per cent.

“Prior to this we had been planning to issue a warning to say the drop in contact from communities for information and guidance on CPR and AEDs from us was very concerning given the already poor survival rate from cardiac arrest in the UK.

“The interest we are now seeing in our materials is already addressing this, though, and is an example of the way Christian’s personal story is already making positive change. From having his own life saved, he will no doubt now save the lives of many others."

She added the swift action shown in the case of Eriksen could make the same difference to anyone in any walk of life.

Professor Charles Deakin, Divisional Medical Director at SCAS and lead for resuscitation, said:

“A person in cardiac arrest will not survive if they don’t receive assistance. Learning how to perform CPR before you need to use it and how to use an AED – and where they are located in your area – will give someone the best chance of survival.”