Paediatric life support for a collapsed child on a ward
NMC OSCE practice station
Basic life support · 1 min to read · 8 min to perform
A written station. Free to try, no sign-up.
The task
You are a children's nurse on a paediatric ward. You find Ibrahim Rahman, aged 6, on the floor beside his bed. He was admitted yesterday after a viral illness. A colleague, Jade, a children's nurse, is nearby. No limitation of treatment is documented. Demonstrate paediatric basic life support, working with your colleague, until the cardiac arrest team arrives, then hand over. Say aloud what you are doing and why. An examiner will tell you what you find when you assess him.
What this station tests
- In children, give five rescue breaths first, then go straight to compressions at 15 to 2.
- Compress the lower half of the breastbone to at least one third of the chest depth at 100 to 120 per minute.
- In hospital, call 2222 and say paediatric cardiac arrest; away from the hospital call 999.
- Send your colleague for help and equipment instead of leaving the child.
- Keep pauses short and give a clear SBAR handover to the team leader.
Sources for the clinical content
- Resuscitation Council UK: Paediatric life support guidelines 2025
- Resuscitation Council UK: 2025 Resuscitation Guidelines
- NMC: The Code
An original practice scenario with invented patients. Not an exam question.