A new training programme to improve the quality of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), which has been rolled out by the National Rehabilitation Hospital in Dublin, is designed to help clinicians achieve, master and sustain high-quality CPR skills and competence, resulting in improved outcomes for patients in cardiac arrest.
The National Rehabilitation Hospital (NRH), located in Dun Laoghaire on Dublin’s southside, is the first one in the country to adopt this new Resuscitation Quality Improvement (RQI) initiative – a digital CPR training programme with the Irish Heart Foundation.
For decades, the CPR training standard for healthcare providers has been an instructor-led Basic Life Support CPR course, with a requirement to renew credentials annually or every two years. However, studies show that skills can decay within three to six months following this training.
This new programme will see an estimated 350 health professionals enrol in RQI at the NRH this year. “It will bring game-changing innovation to how we teach and learn critical, lifesaving CPR skills,” according to Geraldine Leete, who oversees Resuscitation Quality Improvement for the Irish Heart Foundation.
“The RQI programme raises the bar in how organisations develop and elevate their healthcare training. Research shows that better quality CPR can have a positive impact on survival. Other public and private hospitals and nursing and medical schools are encouraged to sign up to the programme.”
Geraldine Leete, who oversees the Irish Heart Foundation’s Resuscitation Quality Improvement programme, says it’s a ‘game-changer’ for teaching and learning lifesaving CPR skills.
RQI, co-developed by the American Heart Association and Laerdal Medical, is self-directed, simulation-based training provided through quarterly cognitive and hands-on CPR quality improvement sessions which measure and verify competence.
Courses are delivered through an RQI Simulation Station, which is positioned within the hospital, giving learners greater flexibility and 24/7 access to training. Current face-to-face programmes entails releasing staff for periods of 4.5 hours.
RQI is designed to be accessible to all healthcare staff and only requires a shorter period of practice, meaning wards are not short staffed and it ensures staff can maintain their certification.
A study of one such station showed performance in adult/child compressions rose from 84.3% to 96.2% between Q1 and Q5, with adult/child ventilation performance jumping from 79.8% to 95.3%.
Separate US research shows the percentage of healthcare providers performing excellent CPR more than doubled (from 26% to 65%) when they were retrained three times over six months by using an automated mannequin with real-time feedback.
Attracta Kennedy, Resuscitation Officer at the NRH said: “This is a significant and exciting milestone for the NRH. Delivery of high-quality CPR training has always been a key priority for the NRH, as is innovation and finding new ways to achieve continuous improvements in our service delivery, and education & training. The move to digital CPR training is another step forward in our digital transformation journey at the NRH.
“We look forward to streamlining and sustaining CPR skills and competence as we transition from instructor led Basic Life Support CPR training to the RQI digital training programme in collaboration with the Irish Heart Foundation.”
“We are excited the National Rehabilitation Hospital is embracing the RQI programme to shift to a new standard of resuscitation care – competence,” noted Gareth Patrickson, RQI Partners’ senior Vice President of International Customer Impact.
“High-quality CPR delivery is a priority, and the hospital joins our commitment to ensuring all healthcare providers in every community are competent and confident in their resuscitation skills to help save more lives from cardiac arrest.
“We celebrate NRH marking a first in Ireland and look forward to nurturing a collaborative relationship rooted in resuscitation excellence.” The RQI programme is marketed, sold and supported in Ireland by the Irish Heart Foundation.
For more information on the RQI programme visit:
