Overview Fire Safety Training Online Fire Training Open Courses Free Fire Safety Quiz

Resuscitation Council Guidelines October 2010

Was it worth the 5 year wait... to be honest no not really!

In fact the changes are minimal. It shows that what we are all practicing at the moment is working well and doesn't need to be changed dramatically.

The Changes

The following changes in the BLS guidelines have been made to reflect the importance placed on chest compression, particularly good quality compressions, and to attempt to reduce the number and duration of pauses in chest compression:

When obtaining help, ask for an automated external defibrillator (AED), if one is available
Compress the chest to a depth of 5-6 cm and at a rate of 100-120 min
Give each rescue breath over 1 second rather than 2 seconds
Do not stop to check the victim or discontinue CPR unless the victim starts to show signs of regaining consciousness, such as coughing, opening his eyes, speaking, or moving purposefully AND starts to breathe normally
Teach CPR to laypeople with an emphasis on chest compression, but include ventilation as the standard, particularly for those with a duty of care

Should you have any questions regarding the latest changes please enquire online or call us on 01524 784356.

CPR / Resuscitation changes explained

When obtaining help, ask for an automated external defibrillator (AED), if one is available.

The availability of defibrillators today in many workplaces and public areas as well as the overwhelming amount of evidence to show that defibrillators are essential in increasing a victim of cardiac arrest's life mean that we now should always ask for one to be brought to the scene of an incident.

Compress the chest to a depth of 5-6 cm and at a rate of 100-120 min

To ensure we get good quality chest compressions they simply need to be HARDER and FASTER than previously advised. Forget all that nelly the elephant rubbish and concentrate on compressing the chest sufficiently to pump the blood around the body and maintain a shockable rhythm so that when the defibrillator arrives it has a much better chance of success.

Give each rescue breath over 1 second rather than 2 seconds

This again just underlines the importance of minimising interruptions to chest compressions. Interruptions in chest compressions are common and are associated with a reduced chance of survival.

Do not stop to check the victim or discontinue CPR unless the victim starts to show signs of regaining consciousness, such as coughing, opening his eyes, speaking, or moving purposefully AND starts to breathe normally.

This line simply underlines that we should never stop CPR once it has started unless the above are present. I think this leaves no doubt in the rescuers mind what should be done.

Teach CPR to laypeople with an emphasis on chest compression, but include ventilation as the standard, particularly for those with a duty of care.

We welcome this particular line as we come across lots of first aiders who have been taught chest compression only CPR and have never been taught how to perform rescue breaths. Although this was and still is an option for rescuers who are unable or willing to perform rescue breaths it never was intended to be something that was taught as a norm.

"Chest compression combined with rescue breaths is the method of choice for CPR by trained lay rescuers and professionals and should be the basis for lay-rescuer education. Those laypeople with a duty of care, such as first aid workers, lifeguards, and child minders, should be taught chest compression and ventilation"

"Compression-only CPR is another way to increase the number of compressions given and will, by definition, eliminate pauses. It is effective for a limited period only (probably less than 5 min) and is not recommended as the standard management of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest."

To discuss your requirements, or if you don't see what you are looking for, call +44 (0)1524 784356. Alternatively you can use our contact form or e-mail us