KIDS SAVE LIVES

According to The European Resuscitation Council’s Guidelines 2021 Mandatory nationwide training of schoolchildren has the highest and most important long-term impact for improving bystander CPR rate. In the long run, this appears to be the most successful way to reach the entire population. The highest bystander CPR rates have been reported in some Scandinavian countries, where education of schoolchildren in CPR has been mandatory for decades, and this concept is starting to spread all over Europe and the world.Following several activities by the ERC, in 2015 the World Health Organization (WHO) endorsed the ERC ‘KIDS SAVE LIVES’ a joint statement from the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR), the European Resuscitation Council (ERC), the European Patient Safety Foundation (EPSF), and the World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists (WFSA). This statement recommends two hours of CPR training annually from the age of 12 years in all schools worldwide. At this age, children are more receptive to instructions and they learn more easily to help others. It is accepted that younger children, whilst physically unable to perform CPR, can also learn the principles behind CPR as it provides a foundation for their learning and they may still be able to instruct others to do so instead. As a result, we recommend teaching all schoolchildren the concept of CHECK-CALL-COMPRESS. Additional training can be provided for ventilation and AED particularly for, but not limited to, older children or teenagers. Starting at a young age also means that performing CPR becomes like swimming or riding a bike: the skills are retained for a lifetime and are easily refreshed even after a prolonged absence.