Did you know that the survival rate for an out of hospital cardiac arrest in the UK is less than 1 in 10?
Source: www.resus.org.uk/
Monday 16th October is Restart a Heart Day, an amazing initiative championed by a brilliant group of organisations including the Resuscitation Council UK, The British Heart Foundation, British Red Cross and St John Ambulance. Each year they work together with the aim of increasing the number of people who survive an out of hospital cardiac arrest.
The theme for this year is actively promoting the use of public access defibrillators and highlighting health inequality around access.
But what does this mean to you?
“People living in the most deprived areas of England and Scotland are on average 99 and 317 metres further away from their nearest 24/7 defibrillator than those in the least deprived areas, respectively.”
Source: www.bhf.org.uk
This information took some finding and something which we find alarming and yet not surprising. This kind of disparity is at the heart of what we do. Giving everyone the skills and knowledge to do CPR and to save a life is only part of the picture. Being able to quickly access and use a defibrillator is just as crucial as knowing CPR.
(Read more about these disparities)
Maybe you could consider the following questions. Wherever you are, you need to know.
- Do you know where your nearest AED or defib is located?
- Did you know that by using a defib you can double the chance of survival?
- Did you know that many defibs will talk you through exactly what to do in the case of an emergency?
Having the confidence to know where to start is key, and learning these skills couldn’t be easier. If you have 5 minutes, watch a video on how to do CPR. It really couldn’t be any simpler.
To find out where your nearest defib is (no matter where you are in the UK!) or to register one, just check out www.thecircuit.uk.
#restartaheart