Applauding Restart a Heart Day

Living Magazines Restart a Heart Day

This year, Saturday 16 October is Restart a Heart Day. Despite everything the COVID-19 pandemic has thrown at us, knowing how to safely help somebody who is suffering from cardiac arrest is still as important as ever. Although the guidance has slightly changed, the main principle still stays the same; early CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) and defibrillation could be the difference between a life lost and a life saved.

The Restart a Heart Day project is led by Resuscitation Council UK alongside its partners – St John Ambulance, the British Heart Foundation, British Red Cross and Yorkshire Ambulance Service. UK Ambulance Trusts also join in to ensure as many people as possible are trained in lifesaving skills.

Save the life of a loved one at home, a colleague at work, or a stranger in the street

In 2019, an amazing 291,000 were trained in CPR through Restart a Heart Day! Every October, the partners come together to increase public awareness of cardiac arrests and increase the number of people trained in lifesaving CPR.

St John plays an important role in this, educating people in local communities to learn about and gain confidence in giving CPR. By equipping communities with basic resuscitation skills, they help increase the number of people who survive out-of-hospital heart attacks.

Use Restart a Heart Day as an excuse to brush up on your CPR knowledge. St John Ambulance believe that everybody should have the skills and confidence to make a difference in the moments that really matter.

  • Take a look at heir guidance to learn what you should do in the event of a person suffering cardiac arrest. In light of the Covid-19 pandemic, they are offering advice on how to give CPR with additional safety measures in place
  • They have posters for adults, children and babies which detail step-by-step instructions on when and how to deliver CPR. Download them for your workplace to make sure all of your employees have access to quick support if it is ever needed
  • They are offering a free first aid online refresher course. If you need help with accessing this free learning resource, please read the FAQ’s. This free course covers five different topics including the most up to date information/guidance, how to give CPR and how to use an AED. This course gives you the knowledge and confidence to step up and help in the moments that matter
  • If you want to ensure you have somebody in your workplace who is ready and able to give CPR if it’s ever needed, then they have courses available to you. The First Aid at Work and Emergency First Aid at Work courses will give your employees the understanding and capabilities they need to deal with emergencies in the workplace including basic life support and CPR.

To view their free online resources and guidance, click here.

Early defibrillation saves lives

Did you know that in 7 out of 10 cases of cardiac arrest, CPR is attempted by a bystander, but in less than 1 out of 10 cases a public access defibrillator (AED) is reported as being used. Every year approximately 55 out of every 100,000 people experience an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, with most occurring in the home or workplace. If there is ever an occasion where your help is needed, will you know what to do?

That’s why it’s so important to act immediately. By using a defibrillator before an ambulance arrives, you can significantly increase someone’s chance of survival.

† Take a look at our defibrillator guidance to familiarise yourself with how a defibrillator works

† Display our free step-by-step poster in your workplace so that your employees have quick access to support if it’s ever needed

† It’s completely understandable if you have some questions about defibrillators before you feel comfortable using one. We’ve put together a rescuers guide on our website to answer as many questions as we could think of

† If you have a defibrillator in your workplace, consider displaying our free defibrillator location poster that will clearly show where the nearest AED is in case of emergency

† Buying an AED might feel a little overwhelming, so we have put together a really handy defibrillator buying guide to answer all of your questions and compare defibs so that you can find one that best suits your needs

† Our Automated External Defibrillator course will give your employees the confidence to act quickly and effectively if someone has a cardiac arrest. Delegates will learn how to operate a defibrillator and how to perform effective CPR. Using a defibrillator within three minutes of a cardiac arrest can improve a person’s chance of survival by as much as 70%.

To view their free online resources and guidance, click here.

Early defibrillation saves lives

St John Ambulance has partnered with the British Heart Foundation, Resuscitation Council UK and UK Ambulance Services to make defibrillators more accessible via The Circuit and give them the best chance of saving a life.

Early defibrillation before emergency services arrive can help double a person’s chances of surviving an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. However, in the UK defibrillation is received in less than 1 out of 10 cases. There are an estimated 100,000 defibrillators in the UK, but only 30% of defibrillators are known to ambulance services. This means that tens of thousands of defibrillators aren’t used in an emergency because emergency services don’t know where they are.

The Circuit is the national defibrillator network which maps defibrillators across the UK, connecting them directly and automatically to each ambulance service. Once located and registered, emergency services can direct bystanders to their nearest defibrillator and increase a person’s chance of survival. In the future, The Circuit will also be able to analyse location data and identify where more defibrillators are needed – therefore saving more lives. Register on The Circuit to give your defibrillator its best chance of saving a life – put your defibrillator on the map.

Find the answers to your questions about The Circuit on the frequently asked questions page.

You can locate defibrillators in Berkhamsted and Tring via our Essential Services pages.