About us

Our mission statement

The Resuscitation Council (UK) exists to promote high-quality, scientific, resuscitation guidelines that are applicable to everybody, and to contribute to saving life through education, training, research and collaboration.

Organisational aims

To achieve its objective, the Resuscitation Council (UK) has the following aims:

• To establish appropriate guidelines for resuscitation procedures
• To teach resuscitation procedures  
• To establish and maintain standards of resuscitation    
• To study resuscitation techniques   
• To encourage research into methods of resuscitation
• To foster good working relations between all organisations involved in resuscitation
• To produce and publish training aids and other literature concerned with the organisation of resuscitation and its teaching. 

Who we are

We are a professional body set up by a group of medical professionals and established in 1983 by Charitable Trust Deed. Our primary objective is promoting high-quality practice in all aspects of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to improve survival rates.

What we do

We develop and publish evidence-based resuscitation guidelines to set out the interventions and practices that are most likely to achieve successful resuscitation from cardiac arrest.  These guidelines  are intended for all healthcare professionals, first-aid organisations and lay people. 

The scientific evidence supporting these guidelines is reviewed every five years and their rigorous development process has received NICE Accreditation.

We work closely and in collaboration with a wide range of other professional organisations and charities. For example, we have developed Quality Standards for CPR Practice and Training documents that have been contributed to and endorsed by a variety of professional bodies including; Royal College of Physicians of London, Royal College of Anaesthetists, Royal College of Emergency Medicine, Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine, Royal College of General Practitioners and Royal College of Nursing. The Quality Standards include guidance on equipment, training and delivery of resuscitation services in settings including primary care, primary dental care, acute (hospital) care, and mental health inpatient care.

Our courses - Training people, Saving lives 

We have developed training courses for healthcare professionals in advanced life support for adults, children and the newborn. These courses are delivered in accredited centres throughout the UK and over 135, 000 healthcare professionals attend these courses each year through a network of 12,600 instructors.  

Our team 

We are governed by the Executive Committee which consists of 25 people, 12 of whom are elected from and by full members of the Resuscitation Council (UK). The President, Vice-President, Honorary Treasurer, Honorary Secretary are the Officers (i.e. the trustees) who manage the day-to-day affairs with the Executive Director. We have a small head office with 16 staff managing administration of the courses, IT and general areas of the organisation.

Our Executive Committee members, Subcommittee members and Instructors are doctors, nurses, resuscitation officers, paramedics, and other healthcare professionals. We also have a Patient Advisory Group. All give their time on a voluntary basis. They have experience and expertise in a wide range of clinical settings including primary care (general practice), the ambulance service, emergency and acute hospital medicine, intensive care medicine and anaesthesia, cardiology, and end-of-life care. 

Raising awareness

Through projects such as the award-winning Lifesaver interactive film  and collaborative work with other organisations, we want to engage with the public. We believe that by promoting and increasing public awareness of cardiac arrest and the knowledge of how to respond in such an emergency survival rates will improve. 

Research