This Saturday’s Matchday will be used to raise awareness of the Restart a Heart campaign…
Restart a Heart Day raises awareness about cardiac arrest and helps people to learn CPR, giving them lifesaving skills and the confidence to use them.
The timing is timely. It was only at our last home game where a supporter – Season Ticket Holder of 50 years, David Ince - suffered a cardiac arrest whilst in the stands.
Thankfully, due to the brilliant work of the staff, stewards and medical staff in attendance, he is now recovering at home.
“I owe my life to CPR and those incredible people who are trained to deliver it in such a fast, calm, and professional way,” David said. “I think the Restart a Heart campaign is an amazing initiative and greatly increases the chances of survival.”
The Resuscitation Council UK along with the British Heart Foundation, British Red Cross, St John Ambulance, the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives, NHS England, Save a Life for Scotland, Save a Life Cymru, and Northern Ireland Ambulance work together to help raise awareness of cardiac arrest and teach CPR.
Last year, the campaign focused on teaching people about the importance of defibrillators during a cardiac arrest, how to use them, and the importance of them being registered on The Circuit.
This year’s focus is to get as many people as possible trained in CPR and defibrillation skills through the free online training tool, RevivR.
Why learning CPR is important
More than 30,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests happen every year in the UK. Sadly, less than 1 in 10 people survive. Early CPR and defibrillation can more than double the chances of survival, which is why it is so crucial to learn.
We want more people to survive an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest by making sure everyone knows that when someone collapses and stops breathing, it’s important to call 999, perform CPR and use a defibrillator if there’s one available nearby.
In the UK, 8 in 10 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests happen at home. You can protect your loved ones by learning CPR in 15 minutes for free with RevivR. All you need is a digital device and something to compress on.
The chances of surviving a cardiac arrest are massively increased if a defibrillator is used. For every minute without CPR and defibrillation, the chance of survival reduces by up to 10%. However, in the most disadvantaged areas, the nearest 24/7 accessible defibrillator is on average a round trip of over a mile, or 1.8km, according to research supported by us.
Training sessions
Magpas Air Ambulance are running Restart a Heart Community CPR training sessions at the following events over the course of the next few weeks:
- 2:30pm and 5:30pm Thursday, 24 October, Cambridge Rugby Club
- 10am Tuesday, 29 October, The Deakin Centre, next to car park one, Addenbrooke’s Hospital
- 2:30pm and 5.30pm, Friday, 1 November, Northstowe Interim Community Centre (The Cabin)
To book a free session, please click here.
Walk for Robert Osbourn
Before kick-off on Satutday, a group of supporters will take part in a fundraising walk for the British Heart Foundation to honour the memory of U's fans that have recently passed away.
Last year's walk – which raised over £3000 - was arranged specifically to pay tribute to our late friend and former CFU Chairman, Robert Osbourn, who sadly passed away last year and was a keen walker.
Supporters are invited to join us ahead of Saturday’s game, which features two routes of differing lengths.
- 10k walk - Starts at CUFC Training Ground, Bentley Road - 10am
- 5k walk - Starts at Jesus Green Kiosk - 11am
All routes finish at the Cledara Abbey Stadium ahead of kick-off, where walkers will receive their participation medals.
To contribute to the fundraise or to sign up to take part, please click here.