The challenge
Every year, approximately 40,000 people across the UK experience an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest where resuscitation is attempted by ambulance services. For those who survive, and for co-survivors who witness or are affected by the event, recovery is too often left to chance.
More people are surviving out-of-hospital cardiac arrest thanks to bystanders, ambulance services and clinicians, but survival is only the first step. Many survivors and co-survivors face lasting physical, cognitive and psychological challenges, yet support after discharge varies widely, with no guaranteed recovery pathway in any UK nation.
A clear standard for recovery
To help change this, Resuscitation Council UK created the Survivor Quality Standard - a clear, practical set of expectations describing what good recovery support should look like. It outlines the basic things every survivor should be able to rely on, such as rehabilitation, psychological support, and cognitive assessment for them and co-survivors. But right now, this is not guaranteed anywhere in the UK.
Making recovery a right
Our My Right to Cardiac Arrest Recovery campaign calls for these expectations to become a reality for every survivor and co-survivor, wherever they live. Our policy paper, The Weakest Link: Recovery after Cardiac Arrest, sets out the urgent reforms needed to close the gap between survival and recovery.
We’re asking decision makers to:
- embed and endorse the Survivor Quality Standard into national cardiac arrest strategies
- commit to establishing a national cardiac arrest recovery pathway in their nation
- ensure survivors and co-survivors can access rehabilitation, psychological support and cognitive assessment
- improve follow-up care and information for survivors and co-survivors.
By emailing your local decision-maker, you can help make sure survivors’ voices are heard, and that recovery becomes a right, not a postcode lottery.