FREE Survivor sessions at the ERC October Virtual Conference!
Earlier in the year, we announced that our annual conference was going to be part of the European Resuscitation Council Congress but thanks to COVID-19 that got cancelled.
However, the ERC has not been idle and have recently announced that they will be holding a virtual congress between the 22-24 October 2020.
Whilst the target audience of the congress is primarily professional, they have kept in the inaugural survivor’s tract of sessions entitled “Surviving cardiac arrest”. These sessions are organised in conjunction with SCA UK and Dr Tom Keeble of the Essex CTC and are aimed at survivors, families and other interested parties.
Presentations
The survivor’s sessions will take place on Saturday 24th and the preliminary programme is as follows (but is subject to change)
- What it’s like to survive a cardiac arrest
- Survivor networks
- Trapped in a disrupted normality
- Improving recovery from cardiac arrest
- Impact of COVID
- Memory problems post-cardiac arrest
- Returning to Life
- Psychological support
You must register to be able to take part in the congress but for survivors and family members, it is FREE.
All the presentations will be pre-recorded which means that those who have registered can watch them before or after the scheduled broadcast time. The sessions will be a brief summary of the presentations and a discussion led by the moderators – those joining to watch live can ask questions during the sessions
Survivors’ Sessions Timings
Part 1 – 08:30 – 09:30
Part 2 – 12:00 – 12:55
Part 3 – 13:00 – 14:00
You can see the full 3-day congress programme here, but remember many of these are for resuscitation professionals and may not be suitable for survivors or other laypersons.
After our first meet-up in February 2015, I realised I was not alone. It was the first time since my cardiac arrest the previous year that I had spoken face-to-face with someone who had experienced what I had. This was also true for my wife, who also happened to be my lifesaver. From that meet-up, the idea of SCA UK was born. Since then, we have achieved a considerable amount, primarily providing information, resources and support to others in a similar situation but also raising the profile of survivorship and the need for better post-discharge care. We are starting to get traction in this, and with the formation of the charity, I genuinely believe we have a bright future ahead and will make a significant difference in the lives of many who join our ranks.