SECAmb urging the public to learn how to save a life
The Trust has published a cardiac arrest report
South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAmb) NHS Foundation Trust are encouraging people to learn CPR, as a report reveals that three-quarters of all resuscitation attempts by their crews take place in the home.
Their report has been published on out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCA) covering April 2021 to March 2022, and shows that SECAmb responded to 8,005 patients who had suffered a cardiac arrest and that it was viable to commence resuscitation of 2,788 patients.
SECAmb, which covers Surrey and parts of East Hampshire, is urging the public to learn CPR in the event that a loved one has a cardiac arrest in the home, in order to help with efforts to improve survival rates.
The Trust has recorded an overall survival rate in double digits for the first time, with 11 per cent of patients being alive 30 days after their cardiac arrest.
26 per cent of of the time, a 'Return of Spontaneous Circulation' was maintained.
The report has also shown that SECAmb receives around 670 calls for cardiac arrest each month, which is close to one call every hour.
It's also been revealed that the peak time of day for cardiac arrest calls is between 8am and 11am, with 22% (1746) of cardiac arrest calls and 18% (490) of resuscitation attempts.
Men are also experiencing more resuscitation attempts than women with SECAmb, outnumbering them 2 to 1.
SECAmb Consultant Paramedic, Dan Cody, said: “We’re pleased our report shows some improvements and we’re extremely proud of the efforts of our staff and volunteers, alongside some amazing examples of bystander CPR from members of the public. We recognise, however, that survival rates continue to fall well short of the highest international rates of 25 per cent, as seen in Norway.
“Bystanders play a vital role in giving cardiac arrest patients the best chance of survival. With our report showing that more than three quarters of resuscitation attempts we were involved in took place at a private residence, it’s clear that if anyone needs to perform CPR, it’s highly likely to be on someone they know. We also know that cardiac arrests can happen anywhere - at the train station, in the shopping centre, at the football match - so we really want the public to be confident in acting quickly if they witness a collapse when they’re out and about.
“If our ROSC and survival rates are to continue to increase then a programme of continuous improvement is needed. We recognise that this must focus on a number of specific areas. These include increasing the involvement of communities through teaching CPR, increasing the availability of Community First Responders, increasing the number and use of public access defibrillators and continuing to improve the provision of professionally-delivered resuscitation by using CPR feedback both during resuscitation and as part of our debriefing process.”
Their reports have also shown that there's an upward trend every year that's been recorded of SECAmb non-ambulance-crew-witnessed resuscitation attempts receiving bystander CPR.
In 2021-22 this figure was 78 per cent, up from 66 per cent in 2017-18 and well in excess of the target of 50 per cent set by the Global Resuscitation Alliance.
The Trust's also reflected on the crucial skills of their Emergency Medical Advisors (EMAs) to be able to coach those who call about beginning and continuing CPR.
The South East Coast Ambulance Service EMAs use the ‘no, no, go’ tool to detect cardiac arrest: if the patient is not breathing and not conscious, they should ‘go’ ahead and commence CPR instructions.
Use of Public Defibrillator Pads (PADs) across the Trust's region is also rising, with a PAD used on 194 patients in 2021-22, compared to 151 and 133 in the two years previous.
Advice on resuscitation is available on the Resuscitation Council website, who have created a "CPQR code" in the shape o a heart which will direct people to a short video on how to do CPR.
You can book CPR courses and first aid through the British Red Cross and St John Ambulance.