AMBULANCE SERVICE FOOTBALL TEAM NETS A COMMUNITY DEFIB
West Midland Ambulance Service’s Stoke Hub Football Club has secured a community defibrillator after working together with the Henry Angell-James Memorial Trust (HAJMT).
The football team train and play at Norton Sports in Stoke on Trent and after successfully applying to HAJMT for a defib to be donated, they have installed it at the community sports club, which also hosts Stoke City Ladies, Staffordshire Police FC and hundreds of youngsters who enjoy a kickabout on a weekly basis.
The defibrillator will not only be available to those using the sports facilities, it will be available 24/7 to nearby residents and the local community, should it ever be needed in the case of someone suffering a cardiac arrest.
WMAS paramedic and Stoke Hub FC manager Matt Harrison, said: “With recent events from the European Championships fresh in everyone’s mind when Christian Eriksen suffered a cardiac arrest on the pitch, it is more important than ever for people to think about installing defibrillators in community areas.
“We had already started the process of trying to obtain a defibrillator before that happened as it is not only ourselves who play here, there are hundreds of members of the local community who play their football here every week and whilst we hope it is never needed to be use, it might just save a life one day.”
The defibrillator was donated by HAJMT, a Trust set up with the idea of helping to install them at key locations across the West Midlands and beyond, whether that is at sports grounds, schools train stations or the village sweet shop.
HAJMT Chairman, Sally Angell-James, said: “We are delighted to have been able to provide a defib to Stoke Hub Football Club as they do a huge amount of good work in their local community and they came to us with such a good proposal, there was no way we could say no.”
WMAS Community Response Manager, Cliff Medlicott, said: “In the case of a sudden cardiac arrest, the definitive care is good basic life support and use of a defibrillator. For every minute that your heart stops beating and you stop breathing, your survival rate reduces by 10%. The quicker good basic life support and a defibrillator can be applied, the better chance of survival that patient has.”
HAJMT accepts applications for defibrillator donations through their website at www.hajmt.co.uk. Not every application will be successful, but the Trust does put a focus on helping areas of the community obtain a defibrillator that may find it difficult to obtain one through self-funding. You can also make a donation to HAJMT by visiting the website.
West Midland Ambulance Service’s Stoke Hub Football Club has secured a community defibrillator after working together with the Henry Angell-James Memorial Trust (HAJMT).
The football team train and play at Norton Sports in Stoke on Trent and after successfully applying to HAJMT for a defib to be donated, they have installed it at the community sports club, which also hosts Stoke City Ladies, Staffordshire Police FC and hundreds of youngsters who enjoy a kickabout on a weekly basis.
The defibrillator will not only be available to those using the sports facilities, it will be available 24/7 to nearby residents and the local community, should it ever be needed in the case of someone suffering a cardiac arrest.
WMAS paramedic and Stoke Hub FC manager (??) Matt Harrison, said: “With recent events from the European Championships fresh in everyone’s mind when Christian Eriksen suffered a cardiac arrest on the pitch, it is more important than ever for people to think about installing defibrillators in community areas.
“We had already started the process of trying to obtain a defibrillator before that happened as it is not only ourselves who play here, there are hundreds of members of the local community who play their football here every week and whilst we hope it is never needed to be use, it might just save a life one day.”
The defibrillator was donated by HAJMT, a Trust set up with the idea of helping to install them at key locations across the West Midlands and beyond, whether that is at sports grounds, schools train stations or the village sweet shop.
HAJMT Chairman, Sally Angell-James, said: “We are delighted to have been able to provide a defib to Stoke Hub Football Club as they do a huge amount of good work in their local community and they came to us with such a good proposal, there was no way we could say no.”
WMAS Community Response Manager, Cliff Medlicott, said: “In the case of a sudden cardiac arrest, the definitive care is good basic life support and use of a defibrillator. For every minute that your heart stops beating and you stop breathing, your survival rate reduces by 10%. The quicker good basic life support and a defibrillator can be applied, the better chance of survival that patient has.”
