More than 14,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in five years in NI

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 15 Oct, 00:33 · Archive

Northern Ireland ambulance staff attended more than 14,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests between 2018 and 2022, with over half of patients declared dead at the scene.

Ambulance staff in Northern Ireland attended 14,255 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests between 2018 and 2022, according to research carried out by Queen's University Belfast and the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service with funding from Northern Ireland Chest Heart and Stroke.

More than 55% of patients were declared dead at the scene upon the arrival of ambulance staff. Resuscitation attempts were made on the remaining 45% (6,415 patients), of which 37% were transported to hospital. The majority of incidents were male patients (63.9%), with a mean age of 64.5 years. In 86.5% of cases, the cause was medical.

The research found that Northern Ireland's attempted resuscitation rate of 47.8% in 2022 compared favourably with England's 35.1%. However, between 2020 and 2022, the Northern Ireland ambulance response time for emergency incidents was 10.7 minutes, exceeding the recommended UK target of eight minutes. The report noted coronavirus may have affected these figures, and that out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in Northern Ireland had increased by seven cases per week between 2018 and 2022.

The researchers emphasised the importance of public CPR training and defibrillator awareness. When a bystander witnessed a cardiac arrest in Northern Ireland, an average of 87.5% of patients received CPR before an ambulance arrived.

How it is being reported

• More than 14,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in five years in NI, data showsBelfast Telegraph · 15 Oct, 00:01
• More than 14,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in five years in NI, data showsAnd in half of cases the patient was declared dead at the scene underscoring the importance of the public learning CPRBelfast Live · 15 Oct, 00:01

In this story: Northern Ireland · Queen's University Belfast · Northern Ireland Ambulance Service · Northern Ireland Chest Heart and Stroke · England

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