A CPR-trained society will reduce inequalities in resuscitation, says charity

New research from Resuscitation Council UK reveals that socio-economic deprivation, a person’s ethnicity, or cultural background are all connected to their chances of surviving a cardiac arrest and is calling for legislation to mandate CPR training as part of the driver licensing system.

The report compiles UK research evidence on inequalities in resuscitation and shows the disparities between rich and poor and people from different cultural backgrounds, when facing the ultimate medical emergency.

“Health inequalities are not inevitable. They are avoidable, unfair differences in health between different groups of people. They are inherent in the prevalence, treatment and outcomes of cardiac arrest. The UK lags behind other countries in CPR awareness and currently less than one in ten survive a out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.”

James Cant, CEO, Resuscitation Council UK.

To bridge gaps in CPR training access across different groups, the Resuscitation Council is asking the UK government to mandate CPR training as part of driver licensing for cars and Compulsory Basic Training (CBT) for motorcycles and mopeds.

“Around 180,000 moped and motorcycle drivers take the CBT test annually, which we believe could ensure greater CPR confidence in younger drivers, and many more from underserved communities.”

The charity said the United Kingdom should join nearly half of the countries in Europe who teach CPR training through the driving licence test, adding that this public health initiative is low cost and provides a greater foundation of CPR knowledge among the UK population who may not otherwise be trained.

Writing in the foreword to the report, Lord Aberdare, Vice Chair of the parliamentary group focused on defibrillators. said that the next Parliament ‘presents an opportunity to drive up the UK’s cardiac arrest survival rates to be among the best in the world.’

To address resuscitation inequalities, the Resuscitation Council is also urging Westminster and devolved governments to collaborate on a public awareness campaign during the charity’s annual ‘Restart a Heart’ month in October.

You can read the full report here.