The difficult choice between resuscitation and letting go

Paramedics are trained to save lives through cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). They attempted to resuscitate approximately 28 000 people experiencing out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) in England in 2013 (British Heart Foundation, 2014). Members of the public are urged to reduce the time to first chest compression by getting involved themselves (Resuscitation Council, 2017). As a person who has received resuscitation, as a member of the public having stepped forward, and as a qualified nurse, I have experienced resuscitation from all sides. I am living proof that resuscitation works—but my current work in a care home has made me aware that while paramedic and bystander CPR saves lives, sometimes decisions are made to stand by and let go instead.

When I was a toddler, I choked on a boiled sweet. I became silent and turned purple. My quick-thinking mother (a carer for children with learning disabilities) picked me up by my feet, sharply slapped my back, and the sweet came flying out. I was one of the lucky ones and didn't need CPR; 2-year-old Francis Dean choked to death on a hard-boiled lollipop (Bunyan, 2009). In fact, 5051 people died from choking in 2015 (National Safety Council, 2017). When someone is choking, the need for CPR can rapidly develop (St Johns Ambulance, 2015).