THE Sussex County Football Association has launched a life-saving appeal encouraging clubs to obtain equipment to deal with emergency situations.
Following the recent collapse of Sussex FA general manager Ashley Slaughter while refereeing, and the shocking events involving Bolton’s Fabrice Muamba at White Hart Lane on Saturday, it shows how quickly a life-threatening situation can develop on a football pitch.
Sussex FA chief executive Ken Benham said: “Life-threatening incidents on a football pitch are, unfortunately, not as uncommon as we may think.
“We want to ensure that if something happens at our facility, and indeed the local area, the person concerned has the best treatment available, and we hope some of our clubs around the county feel the same.”
“A defibrillator is certainly something we will be obtaining shortly. Their use has been simplified, meaning that although trained personnel are preferred, they are designed to be used by members of the public if necessary.”
The British Heart Foundation state when someone suffers cardiac arrest, defibrillation needs to be prompt, for every minute that passes without defibrillation, chances of survival decrease by 10 per cent. And they are offering 50 per cent grants on defibrilators, meaning clubs need to raise just £400 for the equipment.
For more information, contact the SCFA on 01903 753547 or via info@SussexFA.com
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