Marvin OnumonuOne in seven cardiac arrests happened in the workplace, but most people still lacked confidence to use defibrillators, research from St John Ambulance found.
A quarter (25%) of UK adults had experienced a cardiac arrest incident, either as a first aider, bystander or patient.
Around 15% of incidents took place at work, so access to defibrillators remained important.
To help address this, St John Ambulance launched its HEART defibrillators.
Prompt CPR and defibrillation could more than double survival rates, but 53% of people did not know how to give CPR and 65% were not confident using a defibrillator.
Nearly half (49%) would feel panicked in a medical emergency.
However, 56% considered cardiac arrest response one of the most important first aid skills, and 16% believed mandatory workplace first aid training would help people step in during emergencies.
Claire Vaughan, director of people and culture at St John Ambulance, said: “Cardiac arrests often happen in the workplace, but too few businesses have defibrillators.
“By training staff to know how to respond to a cardiac emergency and installing these simple-to-use, life-saving devices, employers can give people the confidence to act.
“This way, businesses will give employees, customers and visitors the best chance of surviving a cardiac arrest in their workplace.”
Vaughan added: “By installing defibrillators in the workplace, HR and health and safety professionals can make a real difference to survival outcomes.
“With a HEART defibrillator from St John Ambulance, teams are not just preparing to save a life at work, they’re helping to save more lives within their local community and nationwide.”
