New ERC Resuscitation Guidelines 2025

In October 2025, the European Resuscitation Council (ERC) published the new resuscitation guidelines. These guidelines form the foundation for all resuscitation and first aid training across Europe. The updates aim to further improve survival rates and enhance the quality of resuscitation education and systems.

Below we summarise the most important changes.

1. AED Use

A key innovation is the emphasis on dispatcher-assisted AED use.

  • Emergency dispatchers (112) are now actively encouraged to guide callers in locating and using an AED. The ERC also advises integrating real-time AED registries, enabling dispatch centres to see the nearest available AED instantly.
  • Locked AED cabinets are discouraged — locking AEDs with a key or code may delay access. If vandalism is a genuine concern, locks may still be used, but dispatchers must be able to provide clear and quick unlocking instructions.
  • Drone-delivered AEDs are recognised as a promising innovation, particularly for rural or hard-to-reach areas. While still experimental, this technology is now acknowledged in the guidelines.

2. Resuscitation Technique: The Basics Remain, Quality Matters

The core of resuscitation remains unchanged:

  • 30:2 compression-to-ventilation ratio for trained rescuers
  • Compression-only CPR for untrained bystanders or when ventilation is not possible

Compression quality remains essential:

  • Rate: 100–120 per minute
  • Depth: 5–6 cm
  • Allow full chest recoil
  • Avoid excessive depth (>6 cm)
  • Minimise interruptions

The ERC stresses the importance of quality assurance through feedback devices and real-time monitoring during both training and real-life resuscitations.

3. Systems and Equity: Resuscitation is Teamwork

The 2025 guidelines put stronger emphasis on the system level:

  • Training for dispatch centre staff
  • Up-to-date AED maps and fair AED distribution

Equity in resuscitation is a key theme: ensuring equal access to AEDs and encouraging bystander CPR in all communities — with specific attention to improving women’s participation.

4. Training and Implementation: Transition Until January 2026

The new guidelines will become the standard for all resuscitation and first aid courses from January 2026.
This means training organisations, instructors, and distributors have a transition

5. Education: Start Early and Practice Actively

The ERC emphasises early and repeated resuscitation education, starting as young as primary school age (4–6 years).

Training should be:

  • Repeated annually
  • Practical and interactive, using manikins and scenarios
  • Tailored to the target group and environment (e.g., sports clubs, workplaces, schools)

6. Paediatric Resuscitation & Special Circumstances

A new chapter covers special situations such as trauma, drowning, asthma, and hypothermia.

Additional key points include:

  • Children: Start with 5 rescue breaths, then a 15:2 ratio
  • AEDs for children: Updated electrode placement — front and back
  • Adults: After three unsuccessful shocks, consider repositioning an electrode closer to the centre of the chest

7. First Aid: Expanded and Updated

The first aid section has been significantly expanded and now follows the ABCDE principle instead of the traditional ABC.

ABCDE stands for: Airway, Breathing, Circulation, Disability, Exposure.

Other key updates include:

  • Life-threatening bleeding now takes higher priority (including tourniquet use)
  • Newly addressed emergencies: heat and cold injuries (heatstroke, hypothermia), amputations, hypoglycaemia (not only in diabetics), and more
  • Practical improvisation is encouraged when proper equipment is unavailable

Summary

The ERC 2025 Guidelines place more emphasis than ever on:

  • Rapid AED access, supported by dispatch systems and open availability
  • Resuscitation quality and feedback
  • Equal opportunities for everyone to help
  • Early and continuous education
  • Broader first aid training

From January 2026, these guidelines will become the new standard.
At Medisol, we closely follow these developments and support instructors, organisations, and companies in the transition — from up-to-date AEDs to resuscitation and training materials that meet the latest standards.

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