At Resuscitation Council UK (RCUK), we believe everyone has the right to make their best possible recovery after a cardiac arrest. That’s why we’re campaigning to improve the post-cardiac arrest support offered by the NHS.
In the UK, when someone has a heart attack or a stroke, there are formal care pathways that outline exactly what kind of support they and their families should receive to help them recover. But for cardiac arrest survivors, the support on offer is inconsistent.
That’s why we’re developing a new set of guidelines for cardiac arrest survivors, aimed at ensuring consistent, effective, and sustainable care for them and their families.
Although there are some recognised guidelines for cardiac arrest survivors and their families, they’re inconsistent and can vary considerably depending on where you live in the UK.
In some places, there’s not even a minimal requirement to follow up with someone who’s had a cardiac arrest – which means lots of people could be missing out on the vital treatments and support they need to make a full recovery.
The NHS needs to improve its post-cardiac arrest support. That's why as the leading organisation for resuscitation in the UK, we'll be publishing a new set of guidelines for cardiac arrest rehabilitation in autumn 2023 - as part of our My Right To #CardiacArrestRecovery campaign. The guidelines will detail how survivors of cardiac arrest should have access to consistent, effective, and sustainable care.
We’ve also been in parliament explaining our work, presenting our policy briefing at a recent evidence session on cardiac arrest survivorship.
How you can support My Right To #CardiacArrestRecovery
Sign our petition to improve post-cardiac arrest support
Sign our petition now, asking the UK government to review the aftercare provided by the NHS, so that everyone affected by a cardiac arrest can have their best recovery.
Sign the petition to improve post-cardiac arrest support
Write to your MP
We need MPs to prioritise this important issue, so the more people who get in touch with them to support cardiac arrest survivors and My Right To #CardiacArrestRecovery, the better.
To contact your local MP via email, visit TheyWorkforYou.com and input your postcode to get their email address. Next, copy and paste our template letter into an email and fill in the blanks. (If you could CC our team at communications@resus.org.uk, we’d be very grateful.)
You can also contact your MP by post by looking up their address and printing and posting the letter.
Share your expertise with us
If you or someone in your family is a cardiac arrest survivor, we’d love to hear from you. Personal stories from people who’ve experienced cardiac arrest are vital to our campaign and help us ensure we’re highlighting the issues that matter the most.
We hold regular meetings to discuss the campaign’s next steps, so your expert insight would be tremendously valuable.
Please email us now at communications@resus.org.uk.
