Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Report 2019-22

Posted by | 15 Nov 2022

The latest OHCA data has been published by RRG and the Scottish Ambulance Service, here is a summary of the main findings:

  1. From 1st April 2021 to 31st May 2022 there were 3,140 cardiac arrests where resuscitation was attempted. This represents an incidence rate of 573.0 OHCA per million population of Scotland.
  2. Overall, 30-day survival was 9.7% (Strategy aim 15%), representing 2 55.5 survivors per million population. This is less than in 2018-19
  3. (11.9%), but significantly recovered after a drop in survival to 7.5% during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  4. Return of Spontaneous Circulation (ROSC) rate in patients with a shockable initial rhythm (Utstein comparator) was 52.3%, with a 30-day survival rate of 26.1%, the highest recorded level since 2011-12.
  5. Bystander CPR rate was 66.1% (Strategy aim 85%), the highest recorded since 2011-12 and having continued to rise during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  6. The number of Public Access Defibrillators (PAD) in communities across Scotland that are registered on the national defibrillator network (The Circuit) has more than doubled since 2019 and is now at almost 5,000. The rate of PAD deployment by the public was 8% (Strategy aim 20%).
  7. Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) associated inequalities remain, with those living in the most deprived areas in Scotland (SIMD1) more than twice as likely to have an OHCA and 40% less likely to be alive 30 days after the event when compared to people living in the least deprived areas in Scotland (SIMD5).
  8. The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on OHCA outcomes but we have made a substantial recovery.

The full report can be accessed here