Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the reasons for which females who have an out of hospital cardiac arrest are less likely to receive (a) resuscitation and (b) defibrillation than males.

Immediate resuscitation and defibrillation can substantially improve the chance of survival after an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. While fewer than one in ten people survive an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, defibrillation within three to five minutes of collapse can produce survival rates of up to between 50% and 70%.

The Department and NHS England currently have no plans to make a specific assessment. However, NHS England has provided funding to St John Ambulance, who published research in October 2024 suggesting “a third of Brits are afraid to give CPR to a woman because they are worried about touching breasts”. The Department welcomes this research and their associated CPR Bra Campaign to tackle gender disparity in cardiopulmonary resuscitation, with more information on the campaign available at the following link:

https://www.sja.org.uk/press-centre/press-releases/St-John-launches-CPRbra-campaign-to-tackle-gender-disparity-in-cpr/