Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland Highlights Impact of Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest Bystander Support Service

Every year thousands of people in Scotland are thrust into a traumatic and life‑altering moment: witnessing or responding to a cardiac arrest. While the ambulance team takes over, bystanders – who bravely step in to perform CPR or those who witness it – are often left to process the emotional aftermath alone. 

Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland’s pioneering Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest (OHCA) bystander support service exists to change that. Launched in 2023 in partnership with the Scottish Ambulance Service, Save a Life for Scotland and with funding from the Scottish Government, OHCA provides dedicated emotional support, information, and reassurance to anyone who has performed or witnessed CPR in the community. 

Research has shown that many people struggle with anxiety, shock, and guilt after trying to save someone’s life, regardless of the outcome. The OHCA service was created to fill a critical gap in Scotland’s support system. 

Amanda Baird, Deputy Head of Service Delivery, said: “The OHCA bystander support service was set up to support people.   

“When you’re involved in a cardiac arrest, whether you’ve carried out CPR or witnessed it, it can be a traumatic experience. We’ve produced wallet-sized cards promoting our OHCA bystander support service for paramedics to give to members of the public at the scene of the incident. The card includes the CHSS Advice Line number, so people can immediately call an advisor to talk through what happened. 

“Lots of the questions we get are: Did I do the right thing? Did I do breaths? Did I do enough compressions? Did I make it worse?  

“So, we’re there to reassure them that they absolutely did. They gave that person the best chance.”  

Data from the Scottish Ambulance Service shows there were 3,752 cases of OHCA in 2023/24. Of those cases, 2,265 people were performing CPR when the ambulance service arrived. 

The OHCA bystander support service offers the listening ears of specialist practitioners who understand the realities of a cardiac arrest. 

Allan White, Advice and Support Practitioner at Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland, said: “Just talking through it with people makes a big difference.  

“It can validate what they did, and we can reassure them that what they did was the right thing and that’s really important. A lot of the calls have been based around that to start with.   

“Most people just haven’t experienced anything like that. Even if you were standing watching – the sounds, the noises, the smells it affects all your senses. It can be terrifying to watch.   

“People think it’s a bit like the television, it’s all quite clean and safe, but in reality, it’s not. It’s visceral, it’s brutal.”  

  

John McGee can’t recall too much about his cardiac arrest. But David Fairgrieve can remember it vividly.  

John, from Dundee, collapsed during a walking football game at Toryglen in December 2024. David, from Midlothian, jumped into action to administer CPR after previous experience.   

David, 61, said: “During the game, I’d spoken to John, but he doesn’t remember. When I turned back, he was lying on the pitch.  

“I didn’t have to think about what I was going to do. I knew John needed an ambulance, but I also knew he was in trouble if we didn’t start resuscitating him. He was changing colour and going grey so we put him in the recovery position. My face was quite close to his nose and I was trying to see if he was breathing and there was no response at all. That’s when I knew that John was having either a cardiac arrest or a heart attack.  

“I tried not to think about anything else but what I was doing. This wasn’t the first time I’d had to do CPR, but I don’t think it’s something I’d like to get used to.   

“You do your best because your best is better than what they’ve got at the time.”  

He added: “One of my team-mates has been quite badly affected by what he saw on the day because he’d had had a cardiac arrest himself, and he was very upset. That’s where the support service from Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland can be so helpful for people. 

“I am lucky that I was able to go home to my family and talk about what happened. I don’t know how I’d have felt if I hadn’t had them. And I think the positive outcome both for John and for the first guy I’d worked on has made a difference to how I feel about it. You do worry that you might have done more harm than good, so seeing the other person recover makes a real difference to your frame of mind.” 

John was revived at the second attempt by the defibrillator at the scene.  

John, 62, said: “Everything went black and I was dizzy for a split second.   

“The next thing I recall was waking up and there were people on top of me, trying to revive me. Then the medics were there, and they took over.   

“I had no chest pains, and I wasn’t out of breath. The cardiac arrest came totally out of the blue because I’ve always been fit and well my whole life. It was a huge shock to me.   

“By the time I was in hospital, I was fine. It was bizarre, as if nothing had happened. I was sitting up, having a coffee and eating a sandwich as normal. It was surreal.”  

To watch more of David and John’s story please go to https://youtu.be/C7kIsOFI2u8.  

If you have given, or witnessed someone give, CPR and would like to contact our OHCA bystander support service can do so on 0808 801 0899 or at adviceline@chss.org.uk You can also text ADVICE to 66777.