Emergency Life Support
Emergency Life Support (ELS) is the set of
actions needed to help keep someone alive in an emergency situation
before professional help arrives. ELS can be performed without any special medical
training.
We believe children should be taught
these vital skills at school.
ELS includes cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), dealing with
choking, serious bleeding, how to put someone in the recovery
position and helping someone who may be having a heart attack.
Around 60,000 people each year in the UK have cardiac arrests
outside of hospital, and nearly half are witnessed by members of
the public and treated by the emergency medical services. Between 2
and 12 per cent of these people currently survive to be discharged
from hospital, depending on where in the UK they have a cardiac
arrest.
CPR given immediately following a cardiac arrest within a
community setting, buys time before using an Automated External
Defibrillator, and so can triple the chance of survival.
ELS in schools
Children are often present at emergencies, but
too few are currently trained in ELS. We therefore believe that
all children should learn these vital life-saving
skills at secondary school, empowering them to play a
vital life-saving role in their communities.
At present, there is no requirement for
schools in the UK to train children in ELS. Alongside
the Resuscitation Council UK, we are calling for ELS
to become a mandatory part of secondary education.
Polling that we have commissioned shows
significant public support for ELS – 70 per cent
of parents, 78 per cent of children aged 11-15 years, and 86 per
cent of teachers would like to see ELS taught as part of the
curriculum.
For more information please read our policy
statement or email policy@bhf.org.uk