Few of us have skills to save a child’s life

The national survery of 2,784 people for DK, St John Ambulance, St Andrew’s First Aid and British Red Cross shows that only 14 per cent would act to administer CPR, with the overwhelming majority of people (77 per cent) opting to call the emergency services. A further nine per cent would ask for help from others.

Published to mark national First Aid Awareness Week (April 11-15), the survey also found that people are much more likely to administer CPR – a combination of chest compressions and rescue breaths – on their immediate family.

When asked what they would do if their own father collapsed, his heart had stopped and he was not breathing, nearly two in five people (38 per cent) said that they would administer CPR, while the majority (58 per cent) would opt first to call the emergency services.

The survey also reveals that most people are put off by the idea of giving mouth-to-mouth. When asked if they would be more likely to carry out CPR if chest compression only was required, over half (56 per cent) say they would.

Another key finding was about the use of defibrillators. There is much confusion about when a defibrillator should be used; most (56 per cent) mistakenly thought that they should be used when someone had a heart attack; less than half (41 per cent) knew that they are used on casualties who are unconscious and not breathing.

For more information, visit www.sja.org.uk