The Social Action, Responsibility and Heroism Act, due to be passed today, provides guidance to courts on potential negligence cases where people have acted in others’ best interests.
Both St John Ambulance and British Red Cross offered joint guidance during the drafting of the law.
Joe Mulligan, British Red Cross head of first aid education, said the legislation would “remove any mental barriers people have about stepping in to perform first aid.”
“Despite the fact that no-one in the UK has been sued for providing first aid, it is a common fear that we’re regularly asked about.
“The actions of the first person on the scene of a medical emergency are the most important, yet people’s fear of doing the wrong thing can cause delays and cost lives.
“We want everyone to learn life-saving skills, and be confident to come forward and use them in an emergency.”
The charity has highlighted the shocking impact of the 'bystander effect' - a well-documented phenomenon which states that, the more people there are at an incident, the less likely anyone is to help - which was displayed in a recent incident on the London underground.
A video, featured on the charity’s website, shows a man collapsing on a crowded tube train and subsequently being ignored by the surrounding passengers.
Richard Fernandez, St John Ambulance Head of Public Affairs has also suggested that fear of being sued may be a contributory factor in preventing people from offering assistance.
He said: “There’s no known case in the UK of a first aider being successfully sued, but we know that the fear of being sued is leading to lives being lost unnecessarily.
“St John Ambulance research indicates that this new law - which clarifies the existing position - will make trained first aiders more willing to step forward when needed.
“Getting trained in first aid is easy and quick and gives you the skills and confidence to act in an emergency."
“We hope that more people will now come forward so more lives can be saved."
Similar laws, such as the ‘Good Samaritan law’, already exist in other countries and Red Cross societies in America and Canada have both cited those pieces of legislation as a further inducement to new trainees to act in an emergency.
Also, in Canada, ‘willingness to act’ increased significantly in first aid trainees who were made aware of the protective legislation.