WIREDGOV

The Scottish Government will publish a strategy which aims to cut the number of deaths from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

Speaking on European Restart a Heart Day, Minister for Public Health, Michael Matheson, said the strategy will be launched in the Spring. The document will look at how Scotland can improve the outcomes for people who suffer a cardiac arrest.

He also praised the work being done by the Scottish Ambulance Service, which yesterday announced it is extending its pioneering 3RU initiative to Glasgow. The Resuscitation Rapid Response Unit was first developed in Edinburgh, where it has significantly increased survival following out of hospital cardiac arrests.

Mr Matheson acknowledged the British Heart Foundation’s (BHF’s) new Nation of Lifesavers campaign, which launched today with the aim of increasing the number of people, particularly children and young people, learning about cardiac resuscitation.

Elsewhere, NHS Borders is today handing over 50 defibrillators to Scottish HART, a local charity who ensure that defibrillators are available in the community.

Mr Matheson said:

“We are determined to increase the number of people who survive a cardiac arrest.

“We know that survival from an out of hospital cardiac arrest depends on the ‘Chain of Survival’ – rapid recognition of the cardiac arrest, early bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), early defibrillation, effective pre-hospital resuscitation and excellent hospital care. We also know that that the most important thing is to ensure that all parts of this chain are working well and working together.

“There is some fantastic work already being done around Scotland by all kinds of different organisations. The Scottish Ambulance Service announced yesterday that they are extending the 3RU initiative to Glasgow. British Heart Foundation have launched today their excellent Nation of Lifesavers campaign to equip more people with CPR skills. I am also delighted to hear today that NHS Borders are working with a local charity to increase the distribution of public access defibrillators.

“We need to harness this energy and build on these initiatives to ensure that Scotland is doing all we can to ensure that many more people who suffer a cardiac arrest survive to walk out of hospital.

“Next year the Scottish Government will launch a national strategy to tackle out of hospital cardiac arrest. We will look closely at what can be done to improve outcomes from cardiac arrest and set out how the Scottish Government and other public bodies can contribute to this goal.”

Background:

The 3RU project - Resuscitation Rapid Response Unit - was developed in collaboration between the Scottish Ambulance Service and Emergency Medical Consultants from the Resuscitation Research Group at the University of Edinburgh. The project has received funding of £186,000 from medical charity Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland, and £200,000 from the Scottish Government.
http://www.rrg-edinburgh.com/projects/3ru

For more information on the British Heart Foundation ‘Nation of Lifesavers campaign see:http://www.bhf.org.uk/