You may have seen, that the Resuscitation Council UK has recently changed its guidance for adult CPR, reverting back to giving 2 rescue breaths after 30 chest compressions. This is due to the reduction in COVID-19 prevalence, thanks to the vaccination effort, and new evidence around the likelihood of catching COVID-19 from procedures, such as CPR.

We at St John Ambulance have looked at this information and decided that we will be following the Resuscitation Council UK and are bringing back rescue breaths for adults to our advice and teaching. 

Further information will go out to delegates in January including a free fresher module on how to give CPR with rescue breaths.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why did we stop and why are we restarting them now?

At the start of the pandemic when numbers were high and less was known about Covid 19 it was advised by the Resuscitation Council UK that compression-only-CPR was delivered in both training and in the event of an incident.

The Resuscitation Council UK has changed its guidance for CPR, reverting to giving 2 rescue breaths after 30 chest compressions. This is due to the reduction in COVID-19 prevalence, thanks to the vaccination effort, and new evidence around the likelihood of catching COVID-19 from procedures, such as CPR.

How can we ensure that the manikin faces are clean?

I am clinically vulnerable, should I be doing rescue breaths on this manikin?

Will I breathe any air from doing rescue breaths on the manikins?

Why am I setting up the equipment? Shouldn’t a trainer do it at the start of the course?

I am allergic to latex; can I use the faces?

I still do not feel safe using this equipment, is there anything else I can use?

Is there alcohol in the wipes and are they safe for my skin?

How often do the manikins get cleaned?

What if I am not happy doing rescue breaths if I am at an incident?