Approximately 5,000 to 6,000 fatalities every year are thought to be as a result of sudden cardiac arrest and the campaign aims to inform people that you don’t have to do mouth-to-mouth to save a life. www.citizencpr.ie has also been launched which features an online interactive compressiononly CPR simulator and enable people to find a CPR course in their area.
Citizen CPR is also being promoted through TV, cinema, poster and transport advertising. Taking starring roles in the campaign advert are Caolán Ó Cinnéide and Helen O’Shaughnessy (both HSE prehospital practitioners).
The research, underpinning the need for the campaign, demonstrates that many people aren’t comfortable or confident with performing CPR due to a lack of knowledge. International research has highlighted that people did not know that it was possible to perform compression-only CPR effectively without using mouth-to-mouth rescue breaths. Approximately 65% of sudden cardiac arrests happen in the community and not in hospital. Many of these incidents are witnessed by bystanders.
Dr Pixie McKenna of Channel 4’s ‘Embarrassing Bodies’ who was in Dublin for the launch said “CPR is a skill that we should all be aware of. This campaign is helping to inform members of the public of the simple steps of “Check Call Compress” which can be the difference between life and death. If someone collapses in front of you who is unresponsive and not breathing it is imperative to carry out these steps to give that person the best chance of survival”.
“When an adult has a sudden cardiac arrest their survival depends on immediately receiving CPR from someone nearby. From the moment of collapse the chance of survival decreases by 7-10 percent per minute when CPR is not being performed. Survival rates following a sudden cardiac arrest are directly related to how quickly CPR is commenced. Irish data confirms the international evidence that if you do not get bystander CPR you will not survive. This is a major campaign and a lot of work has gone into spreading the message of ‘Check Call Compress’. We hope this campaign will lead to increased survival rates for those who suffer a sudden cardiac arrest.” said PHECC’s Director, Dr Geoff King.
A key element of the campaign will be the “Citizen CPR” road show which will visit 29 towns throughout the country in June and July. Local volunteer CPR instructors will be on hand to show members of the public how they can save a life by using simple compression-only CPR.
For further information log on to
www.citizencpr.ie
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Citizen CPR Roadshow
26/06/2010 Waterford
26/06/2010 Cork
26/06/2010 Galway
26/06/2010 Athlone
26/06/2010 Mullingar
26/06/2010 Dublin West
26/06/2010 Tralee
03/07/2010 Kilkenny
03/07/2010 Portlaoise
03/07/2010 Longford
03/07/2010 Navan
03/07/2010 Arklow
03/07/2010 Newbridge
03/07/2010 Cork
10/07/2010 Sligo
10/07/2010 Clonmel
10/07/2010 Dublin North
10/07/2010 Dublin South
10/07/2010 Tullamore
10/07/2010 Monaghan
10/07/2010 Letterkenny
17/07/2010 Dundalk
17/07/2010 Cavan
17/07/2010 Castlebar
17/07/2010 Limerick
17/07/2010 Ennis (tbc)
17/07/2010 Carlow
17/07/2010 Dublin North
17/07/2010 Killarney |
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