Get Onboard: Learn Lifesaving CPR Skills

CPR stands for cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

Simply put, CPR is what you do when someone’s heart stops and they stop breathing.

CPR means doing firm chest compressions to help pump blood around the body. This keeps vital organs, especially the brain, supplied with oxygen until emergency services arrive.

You don’t need medical training to do CPR. If you call 999, the call handler will guide you through what to do, step by step.

Starting CPR quickly can save a life.

If someone’s heart stops, they will collapse and become unconscious. They won’t respond if you speak to them or shake their shoulders.

They may not be breathing at all — or they may make noisy, gasping or irregular breaths. This can look worrying, but these are not normal breaths.

The key signs are:

• They are unconscious
• They are unresponsive
• They are not breathing normally

If you’re not sure, call 999 straight away and start CPR. It’s always better to act than to wait.

In the UK, fewer than one in 10 people survive an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

But survival rates are much higher when:

• Cardiac arrest is recognised quickly
• Bystander CPR is started early
• An AED (defibrillator) is used before the ambulance arrives

In these situations, a person’s chance of survival more than doubles. Your actions in the first few minutes can make a lifesaving difference.

Yes. Hands-only CPR (chest compressions without rescue breaths) is very effective, especially in adults.

When an adult suddenly collapses, there is usually still enough oxygen in their blood for the first few minutes. Chest compressions help keep that oxygen moving around the body, buying vital time until help arrives or an AED is used.

Rescue breaths can help, but you do not have to give them. If you’re not trained or don’t feel comfortable, hands-only CPR is absolutely the right thing to do.

For children or drowning incidents, rescue breaths are more helpful but compressions alone are still far better than doing nothing.

You do not need training to save a life. If you call 999, the call handler will talk you through exactly what to do.

If you’d like to feel more confident, there are easy ways to learn:

• Watch our short CPR video – it shows the simple steps and what to expect in an emergency
• Book onto one of our free CPR workshops – run by our expert team, with time to ask questions and practice.

Any training is helpful but lack of training should never stop you from helping.

It is extremely unlikely.

In the UK, there has never been a successful court case against someone for trying to save a life with CPR.

If you act in good faith and do your best to help, the law and the courts are on your side. They look positively on people who step in to help others in an emergency.

An AED (Automated External Defibrillator) is a device used when someone’s heart stops because its electrical system has gone wrong.

The AED delivers a controlled electric shock that can help restart the heart’s normal rhythm.

AEDs are compact, portable, easy to use and guide the operator through the process with prompts and commands. The AED analyses precisely the individual’s heart rhythm and will only deliver a shock if it is required. 

AEDs are very reliable and will not allow a shock to be given unless it is needed. They are extremely unlikely to do any harm to a person who has collapsed in suspected Sudden Cardiac Arrest. They are safe to use and present minimal risk to the rescuer, provided the instructions are followed. These features make them suitable for use by members of the public with little or no training. 

AEDs have been used by untrained people to save lives. Clear, spoken instructions and visual illustrations guide users through the process. Lack of training should not be a barrier to someone using one. If a person is in cardiac arrest, do not be afraid to use an AED.