St John’s Ambulance is improving its medical provision for supporters at Franklin’s Gardens with the introduction of a new on-site defibrillator on match days.
Coronary heart disease is the UK’s biggest killer, and with only one person in 15 surviving an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in the East Midlands having speedy access to trained personnel and a defibrillator could very well be the difference between life and death.
St John’s Ambulance has recently received funding for a number of defibrillators from The Morrison’s Foundation for the region and has identified Franklin’s Gardens as a venue which would benefit from the provision of this potential life-saving equipment.
The defibrillator will be based in the first aid room underneath Block 24 (Church’s Stand/Barwell Stand corner) from this Saturday’s game against Worcester onwards.
“We wanted to provide our personnel with state-of-the-art equipment and the support from The Morrison’s Foundation has enabled us to do that,” said Sarah Gerrard, regional fundraising co-ordinator for St John’s Ambulance, East Midlands. “We’ve been able to install defibrillators at sports stadiums throughout the East Midlands, and while we hope that they will not have to be used having them available may save a life in the future.”
“We’ve been working for a long time with St John’s Ambulance to provide our first aid for supporters on match days and are always looking to improve our medical provision,” added Franklin’s Gardens stadium manager Andy Tresias. “Having a defibrillator and trained personnel on site every home match day is a significant step for us, especially given how important it is for anyone who suffers a heart attack to receive medical treatment quickly and effectively.”
There has been a long-standing connection between the Saints and funding research into heart disease, with Saints With Heart raising over £180,000 over 10 years through a series of sponsored walks and other activities to support the work of the British Heart Foundation.
To find out more about how you can help keep your own heart healthy head to www.bhf.org.uk.
St John’s Ambulance is always looking for volunteers to help the charity provide first aid at thousands of events every year, from major sporting fixtures to music festivals, carnivals, exhibitions and expos, air shows, horticultural shows and county fairs. To find out how you can help them head to www.sja.org.uk.
