Resuscitation council guidelines 2015
European Resuscitation council guidelines 2015
As you probably know today (15th Oct 2015) the resuscitation council guidelines 2015 are introduced. The European guidelines were published at 6am and the UK guidelines are to be published at 11am.
Unlike back in 2005 here are very few changes,
Safety
Response – If the casualty is unresponsive turn them onto their back, again no change here however the sentence “Shout for help” does not appear.
Airway – Same method of head tilt and chin lift and again an emphasis that Jaw thrust should not be used for lay rescuers.
Breathing – again no more than 10 seconds
What is interesting is that at this point, previous guidelines have discussed what to do if the casualty was, and was not breathing normally. The 2015 guidelines flow into just what to do if the casualty is not breathing normally.
The guidelines continue to explain that the emergency services should be contacted. They have added the point many have been teaching which is to activate the speaker phone to aid communications with the emergency services.
If an AED is available, someone should be sent to retrieve it however a lone rescuer should not leave the casualty to retrieve one; they should start CPR.
Circulation – This links to performing compressions. Whilst the location and depth remain the same, there is emphasis on not pushing deeper than 6cm (risk of injury was greater if the chest was compressed more than 6cm). There is slightly more emphasis on allowing full recoil of the chest. The ERC guidelines explain that many “lean” on the casualty during CPR and therefore full recoil may not occur. Allowing full recoil; without removing the hands from the chest, “may improve the effectiveness of CPR”.
Rescue breaths – Again the breaths are delivered over 1 second. The importance of not using forceful or rapid breaths is mentioned. In 2010 the guidelines mention two breaths should take no more than 5 seconds, however the 2015 guide mentions the time between compressions should be no more than 10 seconds; so a slightly different focus.
Use of an AED – This is a new focus. Typically the use of an AED has been a separate section in the guidelines however in 2015 they feature as a part of the protocol.
The UK guidelines are available n the UK Resuscitation council website from 11 am. Make sure you read through them and record it as part of your CPD. You may also want to attend the Resus council symposium