Ready to save a life
April 1st 2007

Companies who update their first aid protocols to include Sudden Cardiac Arrest could help to save an employee's life, says Patrick Demarre, dealer manager of Philips Medical Systems and a former paramedic

The view of many organisations is that first aid procedures aren't something that need regular reviews. The reality is that if first aid procedures are to be effective they need to be reviewed and updated frequently, especially as the UK has an ageing workforce that is working longer hours.

People now spend more time working and will work for more years than any previous generation, as suggested by the CBI, which has predicted that the official retirement age will be increased to 70 years old by 2030.

With having an older workforce comes the increased risk of many health hazards that are not covered by current first aid regulations. The UK first aid protocols and regulations need to be updated. One of the things that should be included is how to deal with potentially life threatening situations, such as managing the risk of the UK's biggest killer, Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA), in the workplace.

Every year SCA, claims more than 80 000 lives in the UK alone, which is more than the number of people who die from lung cancer and workplace accidents combined.

Once someone has fallen victim to SCA their chances of survival are reduced by 10% for every passing minute without the proper first aid. When you consider that on average an ambulance takes as much as 14 minutes to reach a patient, the risk of a company losing an employee on site becomes very high.

An adequate number of employees trained to deliver CPR and defibrillation could improve the chance of survival for victims of SCA.

Recently the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR), a leading body on CPR and rescue breathing, changed the guidelines for CPR. The changes have made CPR easier to remember and to perform. The changes now specify 30 chest compressions for every two breaths and mouth-to-mouth is not compulsory.

Restarting the heart and maintaining blood flow is important to ensure survival and minimise the risk of brain damage in any first aid situation. Many medical specialists and first aid specialists say the only effective way to restart the heart is to have CPR accompanied by defibrillation with an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) as part of the rescue treatment. Through adding defibrillation to the first aid procedure the chances of survival are dramatically increased from less than 10% to more than 60%.

Although not common practice yet, there are some companies in the UK that are recognising the risk of SCA and are putting staff on CPR and defibrillation training courses. Recent figures have shown that small and medium sized companies are among the most likely to adopt SCA measures such as CPR and defibrillation into their first aid protocol. These have included many industrial and transport companies that have invested in Philips HeartStart defibrillators to give their first aiders the best possible chance of helping save someone's life.

A 21st century workplace needs to have 21st century first aid procedures. Preparing the working environment by thoroughly assessing SCA as a risk to the ageing workforce will help to reduce the thousands of unnecessary workplace deaths every year.