Health: Cardiac Arrest
Debate between Baroness Fraser of Craigmaddie and Lord Evans of Rainow
Lord Evans of Rainow (Con)
On the noble Baroness’s latter point, NHS England has partnered with St John Ambulance to co-ordinate skills development to significantly increase the use of AEDs by individuals in community settings such as those she has just outlined. The ambulance service has access to the location of defibrillators, but, as I said to the noble Lord earlier, it is important that, if you have a defibrillator, you register it so it ends up on the system.
Baroness Fraser of Craigmaddie (Con)
My Lords, defibrillators are extremely important in helping people who have out-of-hospital cardiac arrests, but research shows that there is significant variation in the treatment that patients receive, depending on where they are from, after a cardiac arrest. What can the Government do to ensure that evidence-based guidance for treatment is embedded in practice consistently across the NHS?
Lord Evans of Rainow (Con)
That is a very good point. Treatment does vary from hospital to hospital, which is why it is very important that the NHS establishes best practice so that hospitals which are not performing to a high standard can learn from the best within the NHS.