Ambulance service explores how defibrillator data could improve cardiac arrest survival

A clinical team leader at North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) is leading a project to improve cardiac arrest outcomes by using data captured by defibrillators to strengthen learning, feedback and patient care.

Russell Barnard, a clinical team leader based at Coulby Newham, began a clinical fellowship in April 2025 to explore how information collected by the trust’s ZOLL defibrillators can be used to better understand the care provided during cardiac arrests and identify opportunities to improve patient outcomes.

The fellowship is part of NEAS’ wider commitment to innovation, research and continuous improvement, giving staff the opportunity to focus on projects that enhance services and support better patient care.

The work complements the trust’s Resus Review programme, which analyses cardiac arrest incidents to help teams understand what happened during a resuscitation, recognise excellent practice and identify areas for improvement.

More than 20 clinical team leaders and specialist paramedics have now been trained to use ZOLL RescueNet CaseReview, enabling them to review incidents and provide structured feedback that supports reflective practice and continuous professional development.

By analysing measures such as CPR rate, compression depth, ventilation rate and pauses in compressions, clinicians can gain a clearer picture of resuscitation performance and identify where changes could further improve patient care.

“From becoming a student paramedic, I’ve always had an interest in cardiac arrest. Ultimately, we do this job to keep people alive and, as a profession, I think it’s something we’re very good at.

“To be able to get more feedback from the ZOLL devices should mean we’re able to improve that care even more and improve survival rates. I’ll be looking at trends and developing a feedback mechanism for clinical team leaders, whether that’s a post-incident debrief, giving praise where it’s due or providing constructive feedback.

“As a clinical team leader, I’ll be the one providing that feedback, so it’s great to be able to design that process.”

Russell Barnard, a clinical team leader.

The project is also drawing on international best practice, with evidence showing survival rates from cardiac arrest are higher in some countries. By understanding how other healthcare systems use clinical data and feedback, NEAS hopes to identify new ways to improve outcomes across the North East.

“This project will enable us to use the full functionality of the equipment to help us not only improve the care we provide our patients but also develop our knowledge and understanding of what happens in a cardiac arrest.”

Lee Thompson, Consultant paramedic.

As the fellowship progresses, the next phase will focus on expanding training, strengthening collaboration between clinical and informatics teams and sharing learning across the organisation.

By combining technology, research and workforce development, NEAS hopes to continue improving cardiac arrest care and help save more lives across the North East.

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