• Philip S Robinson, Emma Shall, and Roby Rakhit.
• Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.
• Postgrad Med J. 2016 Dec 1; 92 (1094): 715-720.

BackgroundLeadership skills directly correlate with the quality of technical performance of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and clinical outcomes. Despite an improved focus on non-technical skills in CPR training, the leadership of cardiac arrests is often variable.AimsTo assess the perceptions of leadership and team working among members of a cardiac arrest team and to evaluate future training needs.MethodsCross-sectional survey of 102 members of a cardiac arrest team at an Acute Hospital Trust in the UK with 892 inpatient beds. Responses sought from doctors, nurses and healthcare assistants to 12 rated statements and 4 dichotomous questions.ResultsOf 102 responses, 81 (79%) were from doctors and 21 (21%) from nurses. Among specialist registrars 90% agreed or strongly agreed that there was clear leadership at all arrests compared with between 28% and 49% of nurses and junior doctors respectively. Routine omission of key leadership tasks was reported by as many as 80% of junior doctors and 50% of nurses. Almost half of respondents reported non-adherence with Advanced Life Support (ALS) guidelines. Among junior members of the team, 36% felt confident to lead an arrest and 75% would welcome further dedicated cardiac arrest leadership training.ConclusionsLeadership training is integrated into the ALS (Resus Council, UK) qualification. However, this paper found that in spite of this training; standards of leadership are variable. The findings suggest a pressing need for further dedicated cardiac arrest leadership training with a focus on improving key leadership tasks such as role assignment, team briefing and debriefing.Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

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