Resuscitation by Lay Bystanders: Are We Heading in the Right Direction?

Extract

In Rotterdam with half a million inhabitants in 1974, we set up an integrated approach to pre-hospital coronary care consisting of ambulances equipped with monitoring and resuscitation equipment and staffed with specially trained nurses, who have a central role in cardiac emergencies (Figure 1). In 1979 we started a training program in cardiopulmonary resuscitation for the lay public, with training courses of three hours duration, following the Seattle model.