Joe’s Mini Heartstart – a pioneering scheme, aimed primarily at offering club members including players and supporters the chance to learn cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and have a better understanding of Defibrillators proved to be a real winner on Monday evening.

Sixteen players, supporters, team managers, grounds and bar staff all got ‘hands on’ and learnt how to save a life. Everyone thought the course extremely helpful and all felt that it was two hours extremely well spent.

Charles Poole, a member of JHMT said, "It was great to see everyone get stuck in, especially with the CPR practicals. This pilot course at Aylestone Park FC showed how a Club can soon build on its sporting expertise and raise the bar to become a Club where family and friends can feel confident that the Club is looking after their loved ones.’"

Deputy city mayor Councillor Rory Palmer, who leads on health, said: "This training is very important and I am pleased Aylestone Park Football Club hosted the first ever pilot session. I hope we see lots more sports clubs doing this as well. The city council will be working with the Joe Humphries Memorial Trust to encourage more sports clubs to take up this training across Leicester."

The club’s first session was be delivered by JHMT ELS trainers Alan and Jill Harrison White from the Trust with support from Leicester City Council and follows the British Heart Foundation's Heart Start programme.

Steve Humphries, JHMT chair, said, "In light of discovering that fit and healthy young teenagers and young adults like Joe (who's tragedy was caused by an exercise related arrhythmia) can also be susceptible to a number of subtle heart diseases like SADS, the Trust strongly advocate that all sports clubs take the necessary steps to ensure the highest possible standards of safety in sport. This includes working towards ensuring 'all' members of a club including players 13+, volunteers, club officials, parents, as well as coaches are trained in basic ELS/ CPR ( Joe’s Mini Heart Start ) and have access to and know how to use a defibrillator. Sports clubs should be ready and prepared to come to the aid of anyone whose heart suddenly stops.’ "

"The goals posts have shifted in terms of safety in sport and we have to move with the times to ensure the highest possible standards of duty of care to protect young players as well as everyone else involved in club sport"

As with a fire drills, the Trust also recommend that clubs carry out as a key priority ELS/CPR and defibrillator drills each season to be better prepared for the worst case scenario. It may take minutes to evacuate a building safely but every vital second counts should someone collapse with a sudden cardiac arrest.

The only way to save a person suffering a sudden cardiac arrest is immediate and effective CPR and by shocking their heart with a defibrillator, delivering an electric current to the heart, momentarily stunning all movement and allowing the heart to reset itself.

Consultant in emergency medicine at University Hospitals of Leicester Dr Ffion Davies said: "If CPR is started immediately and a defibrillator can be got to the victim within eight minutes, the majority of people can be saved.

The stark reality is that when someone collapses with sudden cardiac arrest, the survival rate goes down 10 percent if people around a victim don’t know CPR or have an AED. "

The trouble with SADS, as in many cases, there can be no warning signs and this can happen toanyone, anytime and anywhere.’

Any sports clubs interested in the training can e-mail:

Mandy Shephard: mandy.shephard@leicester.gov.uk
Charles Poole: charles.poole@ntlworld.com