Every year 30,000 people have a cardiac arrest outside of the hospital environment, a statistic that makes you stop and think…could I help if I saw someone having a cardiac arrest? We can all help the recovery for these people by learning basic CPR and becoming aware of how to use a defibrillator.
Family members of the simplify team have suffered from a cardiac arrest and there have been a number of high profile cases where professional footballers have required CPR and defibrillation on the pitch.
Increasing our knowledge and having the correct training will help to save lives.
The first moments of a cardiac arrest are the most important:
Every minute without CPR and defibrillation reduces a victim’s survival rate by up to 10%.
The overall survival rate in the UK is less than 1 in 10.
If a defibrillator is used within 3-5 minutes of cardiac arrest, survival rates jump from 6% to 74%
That is why it so important to increase our knowledge of basic first aid. At Simplify Consulting we have trained all our staff how to carry out emergency CPR and defibrillation.
We have recently installed a defibrillator outside the office in Cadnam which is available to our staff and local community, ensuring that should the worst happen we have the training and the kit to help as much as we possibly can.
What should you do if cardiac arrest happens?
- Call 999
- Start CPR
- Ask some to look for a defibrillator
- Turn on defibrillator and follow its instructions
Why not spend some of your time making a difference and familiarising yourself with what you can do in an emergency – visit St John Ambulance for more information and download their First Aid App to your phone. You can also access defibrillator locations through NHS South Central Ambulance Service ‘Save a Life’ app.
British Heart Foundation UK Factsheet July 2021
St John Ambulance – November 2021
First Aid for Life – November 2021
Resuscitation Council UK – November 2021
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Kirstin Brooks
Business Support Manager