Trust Resuscitation Service complete 24-hour basic life support marathon
On Friday 3 November at 8am the Resuscitation Service at Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust began a 24-hour Basic Life Support Marathon – carrying out uninterrupted chest compressions until 8am Saturday 4 November.
The team were inspired by the global initiative Restart a Heart Day which happens annually on 16 October. The aim of the day is to raise awareness and train as many people as possible in basic life support, a skill which you would never hope to use but is a vital one should a patient, colleague, friend or loved one collapse with a cardiac arrest. Survival rates from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest remain low in the UK, with fewer than one in 10 people surviving.
Across the 24-hour period the team and 420 willing volunteers have completed over 150,000 uninterrupted chest compressions. They also had members of the public and colleagues from across the Trust join them, including the Chief Executive Neil Macdonald, the Research and Innovation Team and Critical Care. As well as colleagues from South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS), Bucks Search and Rescue, Rachael Corser Chief Nursing Officer for the Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care Board and four Trust Pets As Therapy (PAT) dogs.
As part of the event the team were also fundraising to support the Resuscitation Service to enable this life saving skill to be accessible not just to healthcare staff but also the wider community.
Nick Thompson, Resuscitation Service Lead for the Trust said: “It was a truly humbling experience to have over 400 people come and support us. From the 16 October for six weeks, we’re aiming to train 1,800 people across the local community. Our fundraising will enable us to deliver more sessions with local groups and purchase vital training equipment. Remember your two hands can make a difference, your two hands could literally save a life.”
