Specialist care pathways improve the chances of surviving cardiac arrest

The minutes and seconds taken to restart a heart are vital to someone’s chance of survival.  

Quick action bystanders to perform CPR, defibrillation and a fast ambulance response are key factors in survival, but each link in the chain impacts on the patient’s outcomes - including access to specialist cardiac care. 
 
The NHS has defined a package of post-cardiac arrest management called a ‘care bundle’, which is aimed at addressing the cause of the cardiac arrest, includes providing optimal support for circulation and breathing, and preventing further neurological damage. 
 
The East of England Ambulance Service Trust (EEAST) is leading the way in ensuring patients get this 'bundle’- more than 97% (April 2023) of cardiac patients received this package of care following successful resuscitation, over 20% more than the national average.  

One of the key aspects of the ‘care bundle’ is delivering the patient to a recognised centre of care. 
In Essex, EEAST and the Essex and Hertfordshire Air Ambulance Trust (EHAAT), together with the Cardiothoracic Centre at Basildon Hospital are piloting a scheme to get cardiac patients specialist care faster. 

The pilot scheme uses a triaging algorithm, based on guidance from the British Cardiovascular Intervention Society (BCIS), which helps pre-hospital clinicians decide which patients can gain the most from direct access to a heart attack centre.  

These patients are taken directly to the Essex Cardiothoracic Centre for assessment and treatment, rather than to accident and emergency.  
 
Chief Executive of EEAST, Tom Abell said: “Helping us take patients to the right place first time, gets patients to the specialist care they need faster and, because it reduces need for secondary transfers and handing patients over at A&E, it frees our paramedics to attend more of our sickest patients.”