The Chain of Survival.

Understanding the, “chain of survival”, can make the difference between life and death.

Firstly, nobody goes into work or school, with the expectation of one of your colleagues suffering a major illness or having a serious accident.

Secondly, Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) is indiscriminate, it can affect any of us, even children and babies.

Sadly, it happens too often, and how you react, can make the difference to their chances of survival.

By learning the basic life support skills you will be in a much better position to help

Early Recognition

This is essential. If you suffer a sudden cardiac arrest, every minute that passes reduces your chance of survival by 10 percent.

Therefore, if they’re, unconscious and not breathing in a normal way, don’t hesitate, call 999 or 112 for an ambulance immediately.

In an ideal world, UK ambulance response times are about 8 minutes, but clinical pressures can probably increase that.

So, by failing to act immediately, their chance of survival will be seriously compromised, by the time they arrive.

Early Resuscitation

Start CPR (Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation) immediately, it makes a critical difference.

By maintaining circulation and ventilation, the chances of significant brain damage are reduced.

And don’t worry about hurting them, a few cracked ribs in return for life, seems a reasonable exchange.

Early Defibrillation

Most importantly, early defibrillation is the third link of the chain.

Therefore, having a defibrillator close at hand, changes their survival chance, from 5 percent with CPR alone, to a convincing 75 percent.

Because people fear doing harm, or hurting the casualty by using an AED defibrillator, they fail to act.

The fact is you can’t hurt them, the technology prevents you shocking someone who doesn’t need it.

Therefore, you’ll give your casualty the best possible chance of a successful outcome by using it.

Early Hospitalisation

Finally, get them to professional medical care quickly. No matter how good the immediate care at the scene, you will need to get them to hospital, and the sooner the better.

By having an understanding of this chain of survival, you will be more confident to do something.

To book one of our courses click here