GUIDELINES FOR CPR & ECC

The International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR) are currently preparing an evidence based review of resuscitation science. The 2010 Guidelines for resuscitation will be published on 18th October 2010. When released, these guidelines can be viewed at www.heart.org/eccguidelines.

Timing of Guidelines Rollout into the Programme

There will be a transition period between the publication of the guidelines and their introduction into Basic Life Support (BLS) and Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) training programmes due to the need to produce new materials including manuals, DVDs and texts for each course.

The Irish Heart Foundation aims to begin implementing the new guidelines in early 2011.

Please bear in mind that it may be necessary to adapt the guidelines when they are implemented in Ireland, i.e. in the case of some medications, therefore any necessary changes will need to be sanctioned before implementation into the Irish Heart Foundation’s training programme.

Please be aware that these new guidelines may be introduced into clinical practice as seen suitable by hospitals and institutions. Please remember the Irish Heart Foundation sets and administers a standard of training rather than clinical practice guidelines.

Instructor Updates

All Instructors will be required to attend an update session prior to teaching courses using the new science.

A number of workshops will be held to update Faculties in each teaching discipline who will then be able to update instructors in time with the rollout of the new materials as they are produced and released.

We will be notifying Training Sites, Faculties and Instructors of all appropriate key dates as these are set.

Instructor recertification should continue to be conducted prior to an instructor’s certification lapsing. No extensions will be given due to the introduction of the new guidelines.

Publication of New Teaching Materials

New teaching materials will become available on a staggered basis for each of the different courses. At this stage we don’t have specific release dates but we have been given the following expected timeframes from the American Heart Association (AHA):

January – March 2011:
• Handbook for Emergency Cardiovascular Care for Healthcare Providers
• Basic Life Support for Healthcare Providers
• Family & Friends CPR
• Family & Friends CPR Anytime Kit

April – June 2011:
• Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support
• Heartsaver AED
• Heartsaver CPR

Key Points:

• Until otherwise notified all instructors should adhere to teaching with the current materials without any adjustment to current IHF/AHA, IHF/PHECC resuscitation training protocols or guidelines. Please note that introducing any non sanctioned changes to courses can lead to confusion in the classroom and such courses will not be certified by the Irish Heart Foundation.
• All Instructors will be required to attend an update session prior to teaching courses using the new science.
• There may/or may not be a need to update equipment i.e. AEDs if the new guidelines require. Please contact your supplier if necessary in order to do this.
• Instructors may go into situations where they are expected to teach old guidelines. This is especially relevant in the medical area where there may be a short delay in them becoming clinical practice in each organisation. Instructors should be directed by their Training Site Coordinator as to when they are to begin teaching the new guidelines.
• Initial guideline updates will be given to faculty members so they can then conduct instructor updates in their area followed by instructor updates shortly thereafter.
• Instructor recertification should continue to be conducted prior to an instructor’s certification lapsing. No extensions will be given due to the introduction of the new guidelines.