Carolyn Harris MP is urging constituents in Swansea East to get prepared now so they would know what to do if faced with a cardiac arrest. This comes as St John Ambulance’s latest research shows more than half of Britons1 (53%) have no idea where their nearest life saving equipment is, despite the fact that up to seven out of 10 people who suffer a cardiac arrest could survive if they are treated with a defibrillator inside the first five minutes2.
Carolyn Harris MP is showing their support for the nation’s leading first aid charity’s call for the nation to get prepared in the event of cardiac arrest.
The new statistics also found that 61% wouldn’t know what to do if faced with a cardiac arrest; and while 81% know what a defibrillator does, 70% of people would not feel confident using one, plus an astonishing 62% wrongly believe it would cause harm to a patient.
Carolyn Harris, MP for Swansea East, said:
‘It is worrying to hear that despite the staggering differences in survival rates when a defibrillator is used, people still don’t know where their nearest one is or have the confidence to use it. We support St John Ambulance’s call for the nation to get prepared in the event of a cardiac arrest.’
James Radford, Director at St John Ambulance, said: ‘Our research shows that while most people have some awareness of defibrillators, we still have a long way to go in educating people about what they need to do in a cardiac emergency.
‘Home is where the heart is; it’s also where the majority of cardiac arrests happen, outside of hospital, which means it’s more likely to be our friends, family – or even ourselves – who need first aid in this life or death moment.
‘None of us want to find ourselves in a situation where we couldn’t save a loved one’s life, any more than we’d want them to stand by helpless if we suffered a cardiac arrest.’
‘That’s why we are urging everybody to learn the four simple steps of C.A.R.E today; so that if the worst happens tomorrow, we can all act quickly and confidently, especially when every second counts.’
Visit www.sja.org.uk/care to learn the steps of C.A.R.E.
ENDS
Notes to editors
St John Ambulance is the nation’s leading first aid charity. Every year, 400,000 people learn how to save a life through our training programmes, including hundreds of thousands of young people. Our volunteers provide first aid in their communities, keeping people safe at events, and working alongside the NHS in response to 999 calls. We’re also always campaigning to raise awareness of first aid and directly educate the public.
First aid is such a simple skill, but it has an incredible impact. We want everyone to learn it, so that they can be the difference between a life lost and a life saved.
Sources:
- YouGov survey of 2,000 adults over the age of 18 in the UK, conducted for St John Ambulance in September 2017
- Defibrillation within 3-5min of collapse can produce survival rates of up to 70%. Source: European Resus Council (http://ercguidelines.elsevierresource.com/european-resuscitation-council-guidelines-resuscitation-2015-section-2-adult-basic-life-support-and/fulltext)
