UK-first scheme aims to cut cardiac arrest deaths
People calling 999 in the East of England to report a cardiac arrest will be the first in the UK to be offered live video support from advanced paramedics.
During the call, staff in the East of England Ambulance Service Trust (EEAST) control room will coach them on cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) via a video streaming platform.
It follows a successful trial in Denmark , externalthat improved the bystanders' hand position and the speed and depth of compressions.
Resuscitation Council UK, external said when resuscitation was attempted following an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, fewer than one in 10 people survived to hospital discharge and EEAST hopes the pilot will improve survival rates.
Liam Sagi, an advanced paramedic, said survival had not "really changed in 40 years".
Starting resuscitation immediately could quadruple the chances of survival, external, according to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.
Mr Sagi said the public needed to know what to do.
"We know that less than half of the public have learnt CPR and for every minute that goes by without getting CPR, your chances of survival drop by 10%," he said.
Bystanders do not need to download an app. During the 999 calls, paramedics send a text message to them via the GoodSAM video platform.
The caller clicks on a link within that message to initiate the video while they are still on the phone. The caller and paramedic can see each other in the two-way video call.
EEAST said this allowed the paramedic to assess the situation visually and provide guidance on CPR technique until the ambulance service arrived.
The video stream will also be used to coach bystanders on how to use defibrillators correctly.
Source: BBC News, 23 July 2025