A new study from the Heart Association reveals that eight out of ten Danes want to receive training in life-saving first aid at their workplace. With an aging population, more people are expected to experience cardiac arrests at their jobs, but only a third of employees have access to regular first aid training procedures, including the use of defibrillators.
The study shows that only 42 percent of those surveyed have received first aid training through their work. This is concerning, especially with around 5000 cardiac arrests occurring outside of hospitals annually, with many of these cases happening specifically in workplaces.
Chief Executive Officer of the Heart Association, Anne Kaltoft, is pleased that so many want to be able to act during a cardiac arrest during working hours. She believes that including first aid courses as part of their social responsibility is an important task for companies.
“When you collapse at the workplace, you are often at an age where you should still have many years ahead of you,” she says. “76% of those who experience a cardiac arrest and survive through life-saving efforts return to the workforce.”
Kaltoft emphasizes that the workplace is often a “lucky place” to have a cardiac arrest because there are more people present who can step in, unlike at home where one is often alone. Time is a critical factor for survival – the likelihood of survival decreases by ten percent for every minute that passes without help.
“Only 1 in 19 survive if you only call an ambulance. With resuscitation and the use of a defibrillator, the survival rate increases to 60-70%,” Kaltoft adds.
With these statistics, the Heart Association hopes that more companies will take responsibility and include first aid courses as a standard part of their workplace practices to enhance safety and save lives.