Heartbeat: Do you know how to restart a heart?
December 3, 2020
Did you know that there are approximately 66,000 out of hospital cardiac arrests every year? Would you know what to do if someone near you collapsed and stopped breathing? Would you be willing to step in and save a life?
Whilst the mention of cardiac arrests and resuscitation may make you think of a doctor or a nurse rushing to your aid, that’s not always the case. Out of hospital cardiac arrests are by their very nature sudden, devastating and leave the victim wholly in the hands of those around them.
To find out more about the ‘Restart a Heart’ campaign, Heartbeat caught up with resuscitation team Sister, Elizabeth Bennett. She said: “This year for Restart a Heart, we focussed our efforts on supporting our non-clinical colleagues to learn or refresh their basic life support skills, by being out on the road running one-to-one sessions at Sandwell, City and Rowley Hospital where our non-clinical colleagues had the opportunity to learn chest compression only CPR on one of our resuscitation simulation manikins.”
“We know that people now more hesitant than ever to step in. We want people to understand that cardiac arrests are sudden, can happen anywhere, and often they’ll occur when you’re out shopping, waiting for a bus or walking in a park. The only chance of survival is being reliant on the people around the person having the cardiac arrest being willing and able to step in to save their life. Current advice from the Resuscitation Council UK is to cover their face with a cloth whilst carrying out chest compression only CPR.”
Former nurse and now Chief of Finance Officer, Dinah McLannahan joined in with the basic life support training. Getting hands on with the resus manikin she said: “It’s been a while since I’ve practised, but it’s always useful to refresh your skills such a lifesaving technique, you never know when it’ll come in useful, or when it might save a life.”
If you would like to find out more about the training opportunities available, contact the resuscitation team on ext. 5908/6173 or email swbh.resuscitationtraining@nhs.net