Ambulance Service urges Londoners to make learning CPR their New Year’s resolution

Image: CPR training near Tower Bridge (Credit: London Ambulance Service)

LAS forecasts 12,000 cardiac arrests in London in 2025 and urges residents to get CPR training

The London Ambulance Service (LAS) is calling on Londoners to prioritise learning lifesaving skills in 2025, as it forecasts over 12,000 cardiac arrests in the capital during the year.

The plea comes alongside LAS’s latest report, which reveals an encouraging return to pre-pandemic survival rates for out-of-hospital cardiac arrests. The report highlights improved emergency response times as a key factor. Call answering times have reduced to nine seconds and ambulance arrival times cut by over three minutes.

However, the report also reveals a troubling drop in bystander intervention. While two-thirds of patients received assistance from bystanders, the figure has declined compared to previous years. When bystanders perform CPR before an ambulance arrives, survival rates double. Using a defibrillator in this critical window can quadruple the chances of survival.

Mark Faulkner, Consultant Paramedic at LAS, said:

“Being ready to save a life should be top of the New Year’s resolution list for Londoners. Learning CPR is a core life skill that everyone – including children – should know. We can save more lives if more people are prepared to intervene before paramedics arrive.”

West London born star Rosamund Pike joins call for Londoners to learn how to save a life

Saltburn star Rosamund Pike, who originally comes from Hammersmith, joined calls for Londoners to learn CPR after spending a night shift with paramedics.

In a video posted on YouTube after her “riveting and insightful” evening, Pike said:

““I’ve just been taught how to save a life with London Ambulance Service. It takes only a few minutes to learn these skills and give you the confidence to use them when it matters most.”

The London Lifesavers campaign aims to equip more residents with these skills, training 10,000 schoolchildren in CPR in 2024 and targeting similar numbers in 2025. LAS is also urging local businesses and organisations in 150 priority neighbourhoods, identified as “defibrillator deserts,” to host public access defibrillators.

Professor Rachael Fothergill, Head of Clinical Audit and Research at LAS, said:

“There are large discrepancies in survival rates and access to life-saving devices, particularly in more deprived areas. A person treated with a defibrillator by a bystander is nearly four times more likely to survive, making early intervention critical.”

The LAS is appealing to Londoners to support the Heart Starters campaign, which funds defibrillator installations in underserved areas. For more information on hosting a defibrillator or contributing to the campaign, visit the London Ambulance Service website.

With most cardiac arrests occurring at home or in public spaces, LAS is urging everyone to make 2025 the year they learn CPR and how to use a defibrillator. As Faulkner concluded:“These simple actions could save a life. Let’s make London a safer place together.”