FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Resuscitation Council UK and British Heart Foundation have written a Guide to Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) which gives detailed information about the use of AEDs in the community. We urge you to read this as it will answer your questions in more detail. 

Training in CPR is provided by many organisations, and some classes also include instruction in the use of an AED. Many different kinds of training are provided, ranging from ‘hands-on’ classes with training manikins to purely internet-based distance-learning instruction. It is recommended that training should include practice on a training manikin. 

Many ambulance services also teach the general public: contact your local service for further details. 

The voluntary first aid organisations (for example St. John Ambulance, St. Andrew’s Ambulance, The British Red Cross and the Royal Life Saving Society) provide instruction; contact your nearest branch for details. There are also many private first aid training companies that provide training, and an internet search will identify those in your area. 

It is very unlikely that someone in the UK who acted in good faith when trying to help another person would be held legally liable for an adverse outcome. No such action has ever been brought against someone who performed CPR and, in general, the courts in the UK look favourably on those who go to the assistance of others. 

Resuscitation Council UK has detailed guidance on the legal status of those who attempt resuscitation . This provides answers to most of the commonly asked questions on the subject. 

In the UK fewer than 10% of all the people in whom a resuscitation attempt is made outside hospital survive. Improving this figure is a major priority for Resuscitation Council UK, the Department of Health and Social Care, ambulance services and first aid organisations. 

When all the stages in the Chain of Survival take place promptly, the figures are much better. This is possible where the arrest is recognised immediately, bystanders perform CPR, and an automated defibrillator is used before the ambulance service arrive. Survival rates in excess of 50% have been reported under these circumstances.