ARAN was formed in response to dissatisfaction with the efficacy of the current Basic Life Support (BLS) recommendations in Australia, the direction of resuscitation guidance in Australia and the lack of leadership and innovation. The fact that survival rates in recent years have fallen is, in part, due to the current BLS advice that is sometimes contrary to international resuscitation recommendat
ion and that are out of touch with the realities of out-of-hospital care. Sadly in Australia, BLS responders are encouraged to adhere to regimes and methods with very poor or no evidence of their efficacy. It also had become apparent that the Australian Resuscitation Council (ARC) has consistently failed to exercise good consultative and review processes in its refusal to consider contrary evidence to it's own consensus opinion and instead selectively use evidence as a basis for its decisions. This has resulted in Basic Life Support (BLS) practice in Australia falling short of international best practice. It was necessary, therefore, to provide an alternative organisation to show direction and guidance in Australia, on matters of BLS resuscitation, to improve outcomes and re-focus the efforts of rescuers on a common sense approach to resuscitation rather than a physician/hospital centric approach to this valuable and essential opportunity to save life prior to clinical support. ARAN's mission is to provide the disruptive innovation and advocacy that is lacking but needed in BLS resuscitation in Australia today.
