The Introduction of a Basic Life Support Course for Nurses and Doctors in a Rural Indian Setting: Was it Useful?

Abstract: Compared with no intervention, evidence shows that survival to hospital discharge in patients who experience cardiac arrest is greater amongst those who receive basic life support (BLS). Whilst healthcare teams strive to prevent this from happening, inevitably it will occur when a disease presents too late or too rapidly for medical treatment to intervene. As such, cardiac arrest within hospitals are not rare events. The staff who most commonly face this situation in hospitals worldwide tend to be the most junior, due to the majority of their time being spent on hospital wards. The newly qualified healthcare professionals, junior doctors and nurses provide the front line in recognising cardiac arrest and delivering basic resuscitation. Their knowledge and skill set is essential in giving patients the best chance until senior staff can provide further guidance as to more complex treatment decisions. It is known that survival from a cardiac arrest can be three times higher when the arrest is attended by persons who are able to provide immediate resuscitation. Improving basic life support skills is an area that can improve outcomes when faced with cardiac arrest. A BLS course was delivered in a large, busy, rural hospital in India. This paper explains the rationale behind and process of providing the course for junior doctors and nurses who routinely work on the intensive care unit (ICU). The qualitative feedback shows promising results and demonstrates there is support from healthcare professionals for further BLS courses.