CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation)

Learn CPR, act fast, save lives

 

When you first arrive at the scene, take the following steps to treat the casualty:

 

  Look for DANGER  – to yourself and to others

  Check for a RESPONSE – Gently shake the person who has collapsed and speak to them.

  SHOUT for HELP and CALL 999

  • Keep them on loudspeaker, tell them the person is not breathing, they will help talk you through the process
  • Know your location, consider downloading  the What3Words App
  • If you are not alone, send someone to get a Defibrillator 

 

Then apply the following sequence of actions:

Check RESPONSE – Gently shake the person who has collapsed and speak to them. SHOUT for HELP and CALL 999. 1. Keep them on loudspeaker, tell them the person is not breathing, they will help talk you through the process. 2. Know your location, consider downloading the What3Words App. 3. If you are not alone - send someone to get a Defibrillator
Check AIRWAY – Open the casualties mouth and check for foreign material.
Check BREATHING – 1. Look to see if their chest is rising and falling, 2. Listen and Feel for 10 seconds – you are looking for signs if normal breathing.
Commence CPR – Start compressions 1. Interlock your fingers 2. Place your hands in the centre of their chest 3. Push down hard and then release – twice per second/ 100-120BPM ( consider downloading a Metronome Beat App, set it to this rate, it will help you learn the speed) 4. Don’t stop
If you have a DEFIBRILATOR switch it on and follow the instructions The defibrillator will tell you exactly what to do.
The DEFIBRILATOR will ask everyone to stand clear.
The DEFIBRILLATOR will tell you if you need to press the red button to create a shock.
Continue giving CPR until: 1. The AED asks you to pause while it reanalysis and gives another shock if needed. 2. A paramedic arrives and tells you what to do 3.The person shows signs of life.

 

 

The following information and guidance is from the South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust and The Resuscitation Council UK

 

Plan Ahead

  • Know your Exact Location – Download What3Words
  • Learn CPR
  • Find your Nearest Defibrillator – for Cattistock it is in the red phone box next to the Fox & Hounds pub

 

Key Messages:

  • A cardiac arrest is when the heart’s electrical supply is interrupted resulting in the heart stopping pumping blood around the body.
  • The heart is a pump, which supplies oxygenated blood to all of the body, which is vital for bodily function.
  • If someone’s had a cardiac arrest, they’ll be unconscious, not breathing or not breathing normally. Call 999 immediately.
  • A cardiac arrest is when the heart stops beating. This is not the same as a heart attack, although a heart attack may lead to a cardiac arrest.
  • All the cells of the body require oxygen and nutrients to survive. Oxygen and nutrients are carried round the body in your blood, which is pumped by your heart.
  • If a cardiac arrest occurs, blood will stop circulating around the body. Breathing will also cease as well though it may not stop completely for several minutes. Without a supply of oxygen, the cells in the body start to die. Brain cells are incredibly sensitive. After about three to four minutes of no oxygen, brain cells will begin dying, leading to brain damage and death.
  • The purpose of CPR is to keep oxygenated blood flowing around the body to keep the vital organs alive.
  • CPR itself will not restart someone’s heart; it just keeps them alive until a defibrillator arrives. A defibrillator is a device that delivers an electrical shock to the heart to restart it.
  • Over 30,000 people suffer cardiac arrests outside of hospital in the UK every year. If this happens in front of a bystander who starts CPR immediately before the arrival of the ambulance, the victim’s chances of survival double or triple.
  • Chain of Survival – Early Recognition, Early CPR, Early Call for Help, Early Defibrillation. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Bystander intervention is vital to improve outcomes.
  • Compressions should be at the rate 100-120 per minute, 5-6 cm compressing the chest and a ratio of 30 compressions to two breaths for adults (when permitted) pressing on the centre of the chest between the nipples. Chest compressions and ventilations slow down the rate of deterioration of the brain and heart. If a bystander is unwilling to do mouth-to-mouth, hands-only CPR is fine.
  • With each minute’s delay of delivering a defibrillation shock to a shockable cardiac arrest, the chances of survival decrease by 10-12%.

 

 

To learn how to perform CPR, watch the following short animation video produced by The Resuscitation Council UK 

Nikki, Helen and Andy
Visitors found plenty of information and interactive material.

The following are useful documents from Resuscitation UK, emphasising our need for CPR.

Please expand the centre poster, scan the heart shaped QR code, then download and carry your own personal remainder of how to save a life.

Please enlarge the image and scan the Heart QR Code