Over 3,000 people in Scotland have an out of hospital cardiac arrest every year and every second counts. The public can help by dialling 999, starting CPR – or Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation – and using a defibrillator it can help save lives.
The Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) has urged people up to GoodSAM, an app which has shown a substantial increase in survival by supporting early intervention, ensuring a quicker response by community responders and Scottish Ambulance teams.
The benefit of using GoodSam was highlighted at the annual Scottish Cardiac Arrest Symposium held in Edinburgh (6 September 2023).
Michael Dickson, SAS Chief Executive said: “When a cardiac arrest occurs we know every second counts, the earlier CPR happens the greater the chances of survival. The public can help by joining GoodSam and find out how to carry out CPR.
“I would encourage everyone to find out more by visiting www.savealife.scot/GoodSAM – you can really make a difference.”
Dundee-based Chris Allison read about the app in a newspaper article, which inspired him to register a few years ago. Chris volunteers for the HM Coastguard and wanted to further help out his local community by becoming a GoodSAM responder.
He was lying in bed early one morning when he received a GoodSAM notification for a cardiac arrest happening around the corner. He quickly raced to the scene.
He found the patient’s wife administering CPR whilst quite distressed, so he took over until the paramedics arrived shortly after. He stayed with the paramedics to assist and after a lot of hard work from all involved, they managed to get a pulse then transport the patient to hospital.
Chris said: “As I had previous experience of emergency medicine through my work, I felt it my duty to register as a GoodSAM responder.
“There is no right or wrong when it comes to CPR, but family members can often find it hard when they are highly distressed.
“The GoodSAM app is extremely valuable as it gives local people in their communities the ability and system to provide life-saving support.”