22 June 2011
Ambulance staff in Bromley will be teaching members of
the public how to help somebody who has collapsed and stopped
breathing.
The Service will be at the Bromley Festival of Sport on Sunday
26 June, giving sessions in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)
which can dramatically improve chances of survival for patients who
suffer a cardiac arrest.
Over the last four years, the Service has helped to double the
cardiac arrest survival rate in London. That is largely thanks to
the speed in which our staff reach patients, the improvements in
patient care and the number of public-access defibrillators –
machines that deliver an electric shock that can restart the heart
– that we have helped site across the capital.
Figures from 2009/10, show that 21.5 per cent of patients
suffering an out-of-hospital, bystander-witnessed cardiac arrest
and treated by ambulance staff were discharged alive from hospital.
Research also shows that effective CPR while an ambulance is on the
way can double a patient’s chances of survival, while using a
defibrillator can increase it by more than a third.
Bromley Community Involvement Officer Conal Percy said: "When
someone suffers a cardiac arrest every second is vital. Just by
recognising what someone suffering a cardiac arrest looks like and
calling 999 for an ambulance straight away can save their life.
Using basic life support like CPR can further improve their chances
of survival.”
Notes to editors:
- For further information about the London Ambulance Service or
this news release please contact the communications department on
020 7783 2286.
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- Patients are now twice as likely to survive an out-of-hospital
cardiac arrest in London than they were just four years ago. Latest
figures show that in 2009/10, 21.5 per cent of patients suffering
an out-of-hospital, bystander-witnessed cardiac arrest and who were
treated by ambulance staff were discharged alive from hospital,
compared to 10.9 per cent in 2005/06.
- This is down to a number of factors, including staff reaching
patients more quickly and giving better quality CPR and clinical
care, along with other improvements such as the increased number of
public-access defibrillators.
- The work of our Community Resuscitation team has helped to
improve public knowledge of the importance of providing basic life
support in an emergency.
- With the help of the British Heart Foundation, the Service has
coordinated the installation of over 500 defibrillators in public
places, and last year trained over 1,000 people working in those
locations to use them while an ambulance is on the way.
- Being able to use a defibrillator to restart a patient’s heart
can further increase their chances by more than a third.
- The Service also has a network of volunteer community
responders who are trained to use a defibrillator and attend
patients in a life-threatening condition in their neighbourhood,
alongside a traditional ambulance response.