Prehospital resuscitation by Irish GP's: a preliminary report.

Two hundred and eleven Irish GP's responded to a questionnaire survey of their experiences of prehospital resuscitation. Seventy per cent had attempted CPR in a prehospital setting and a success rate of 21% was reported. A defibrillator had been used in the prehospital setting by 10% of the respondents with a reported success rate of 11%. Over 80% considered that they would benefit from further training in CPR and the use of a defibrillator. The implications of these results for the development of an Irish cardiac "chain of survival" are discussed.