UK ambulance service pilots live video CPR coaching
East of England Ambulance Service has become the first in the UK to offer live video guidance for 999 callers reporting cardiac arrests.
The East of England Ambulance Service Trust (EEAST) will use live video to help bystanders perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) — chest compressions and rescue breaths to restart the heart — following a successful trial in Denmark that improved hand positioning and the speed and depth of compressions.
Advanced paramedics in the control room will guide callers using the GoodSAM video platform.
The aim is to improve survival rates for the 3,500 patients who undergo resuscitation each year across Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Essex, Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire.
Fewer than one in 10 people survive to hospital discharge after an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest — when the heart suddenly stops beating — according to Resuscitation Council UK.
Liam Sagi, an advanced paramedic, said survival rates had not “really changed in 40 years”, but starting CPR immediately could significantly improve outcomes.
He said: “We know that less than half of the public have learnt CPR and for every minute that goes by without getting CPR, your chances of survival drop by 10 per cent.”
The system does not require an app.
Paramedics send a text message containing a link that opens a two-way video call while the 999 caller remains on the phone, allowing responders to assess and guide CPR technique in real time until help arrives.
Sagi said: “We know that our call handlers do a fantastic job of coaching people through CPR over the telephone but there are trials internationally that show we can really improve the quality of the CPR delivered.”
He said they would be focusing on hand position and chest compression depth.
“We want to understand if this helps people in really traumatic situations. Does it help confidence? Does it help improve quality of CPR, and does it help the person process things after it’s happened?”
The approach works best with more than one bystander — one to hold the phone, another to perform CPR.
Success depends on video connectivity and how familiar the caller is with using video calls.
John Newman, a community first responder from Epping, Essex, said: “Sometimes when we arrive, folk are so nervous they might hurt the person on the floor, they just stand back and watch apprehensively.
“If they’re already lying there, they’re already in a life-threatening situation, so they should just get on and do it.”
The project received £142,000 from NHS Charities Together and support from the East of England Ambulance Service Charity. Essex and Herts Air Ambulance is providing critical care paramedics for the scheme.
Dr Gareth Grier, associate medical director, said: “Every day we see cases where high quality CPR has made a life-changing difference to patients.
“This project will make sure that every patient gets the best chance of a good outcome.”
The video system will also help callers use defibrillators — portable devices that deliver electric shocks to restart the heart. Newman said some people were “very apprehensive” about using them.
He said: “The video will overcome the apprehension right at the beginning.
“Our call handlers will tell you where the nearest defibrillator is. Someone else can go and get it, while you carry on with the chest compressions.”
The out-of-hospital cardiac arrest desk runs four days a week, from 07:00 to 19:00.
