In 2003 there was a cardiac arrest on a patient 4 hours postcardiac
surgery. Over the following four hours his chest was
re-opened three times and eventually the patient was re-grafted
in his ICU bed on bypass.
Many of the nursing and junior medical staff reported they
felt disorganised and of little help to the situation and
would have performed much better if they had a defined
and well practised role. In response to this we created the
Cardiothoracic Advanced Life Support Course.
We have devised a set of protocols that address the patient
suffering a cardiac arrest and all common serious complications
in ICU or on the ward. Our aim was to create a common language
for all cardiothoracic practitioners.
We hope this course will empower all practitioners to act
with confidence to better treat our critically ill patients
using well validated protocols, safely managing the patient
until expert help arrives. | 
