Ok, so it's a cheesily modified quote but Vinnie Jones has put his weight behind the British Heart Foundation. They have become the first organisation in the UK to actively promote Hands-only Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR). Backed by Resuscitation Council UK, they say anyone who doesn’t have CPR training should now ignore the kiss of life in favour of “hard and fast” compressions in the centre of the chest.
Their poll showed nearly half of people are put off helping because of a lack of knowledge about CPR. A fifth of respondents worried specifically about the thought of the kiss of life or catching an infectious disease.
As a first aider helping a casualty in the street you are legally classed as a rescuer without the duty of care of a health professional so the best advice is "just get on with it!"
It’s been shown that hard, fast and uninterrupted chest compressions are better than stopping compressions for ineffective rescue breaths.
If you find someone unconscious and not breathing normally and you're not sure what to do...
Dial 999 & Ask a bystander to fetch an AED if it is available
Place the heel of your hand in the centre of their chest with your other hand on top
Compress the chest hard and fast - about 5cm (2") at a rate of 120bbp
("...ah, ah, ah, ah, stayin' alive, stayin' alive!...")
Keep going until help arrives
Doing nothing still has consequences - You will be giving them the best chance of survival
