Lincolnshire bystanders urged to act in emergencies

People in Lincolnshire are being urged not to be afraid of stepping in during a medical emergency, with St John Ambulance warning every second counts when someone suffers a cardiac arrest.

The charity says treatment often needs to begin within three to five minutes, before an ambulance can arrive.

Professor Andrew Hartle, Chief Medical Officer at St John Ambulance, whose family is from Market Rasen, says response times can vary in large rural counties like Lincolnshire.

He said: “Across the UK, the average response time for the really most important emergency is seven to eight minutes, and that’s too long to wait for some of these really important medical emergencies.

“In cardiac arrest out of hospital, we need to start treatment within three to five minutes.

“So if the equipment’s available, people know where it is and they feel competent to use it, then that will make a real difference.”

Professor Hartle says modern defibrillators and bleed control kits are designed to be used safely, even by people with no previous training.

He said: “The defibrillator is automatic. It tells you what to do, guides you through every single step from opening the electrodes, where to put them on, telling you whether to do CPR or not.

“It won’t let you do anything that’s unsafe. You cannot make things worse with one of these defibrillators.”

Bleed control kits also include cartoon-style instructions inside the pack and on each item.

Members of the public can only access the kits by calling 999, with emergency call handlers able to talk them through each step.

Professor Hartle added: “If someone collapses and you don’t know what to do, the first thing you should do is be safe.

“The next thing you need to do is to ask for help. Dial 999 on speakerphone and the people at the end of the phone will tell you exactly what to do.

“If someone’s had a cardiac arrest and you don’t do anything, they’re going to die; you can’t make that any worse.”