Ospreys has partnered with Wales’ CPR and defibrillation organisation, Save a Life Cymru to help raise awareness of CPR among its audiences in a key partnership with its medical team.
Keen to play its part in helping to improve cardiac survival rates, Ospreys will leverage its visibility in the Welsh community by sending its CPR-trained medics and physios onto home and away pitches this season with the Save a Life logo adorning their tops and medic bags. Promising to put cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in the spotlight and encourage people to follow advice and “have a go” at CPR rather than stand by when someone has a cardiac arrest.
Save a Life Cymru the National organisation to improve cardiac arrest survival in Wales, promoting CPR and defibrillation within communities, is encouraging everyone in Wales to learn CPR skills, so people are more confident in the steps they need to take when a person has a cardiac arrest.
“This is a great initiative, raising awareness among our supporters and the general public of how to recognise a cardiac arrest and administer early CPR, while waiting for specialist support, will no doubt help to save lives in our community.” Chris Towers, Ospreys Head of Medical
It’s a common misconception that cardiac arrests happen to men of a certain age, but research shows that’s not the case. Every year in Wales, over 6,000 men and women of all ages will have a sudden cardiac arrest in the community with approximately 80% happening in the home. A person’s chance of surviving a cardiac arrest either at home or in the community will decrease by 10% with every passing minute if CPR and defibrillation is not performed. So, early intervention with CPR can increase chances of survival.
Professor Len Nokes, Chair of Save a Life Cymru added “with the majority of cardiac arrests taking place in the home, we can make a real difference to survival rates in Wales by simply increasing the number of people who feel confident to try CPR. The most important thing for people to do if a cardiac arrest happens is to ring 999 straight away. The call-taker will talk you through how to perform CPR, ask you to send someone else to get a defibrillator, and call an ambulance crew.”
In addition to the medic’s kits and shirts, Save a Life Cymru will be working with the Ospreys to help offer training to non-medically trained staff, players and youth teams throughout the season helping to build CPR skills and confidence in the community.
But it is a shock when you’re faced with a cardiac arrest.
Football fans watched in horror as Denmark’s Christian Eriksen collapsed on the pitch during the Euro 2020 game against Finland back in 2021, suffering a sudden cardiac arrest.
As a result of an increased focus on reducing fatalities, Scandinavian countries have turned their attention to prevention methods and are already witnessing a behaviour change, with more people confident enough to perform CPR. Sweden have invested so much that twice as many people now survive sudden cardiac arrests (SCA) than 20 years ago and 70% of those who suffer out-of-hospital SCAs are given CPR.
Ospreys want to be part of that change, partnering with Save a Life Cymru to help increase survival rates from sudden cardiac arrest across Wales
Professor Len Nokes, from Save a Life Cymru continued: “We’re asking people across Wales to help increase cardiac arrest survival rates by learning or refreshing their lifesaving CPR skills. When you are trained in CPR it gives you confidence if you are faced with that emergency situation. But, even more importantly we want to give people confidence that they can make a difference and save someone’s life even if they have never had training. Call 999 and they will help you.”
Ospreys Commercial Director, Anthony Cole-Johnson added: “The facts are we have an opportunity to use the power of rugby to raise awareness of CPR and defibrillation to help save people’s lives. We can help tool our fans with the knowledge of what to do If they are faced with this situation. It’s a huge responsibility for the Ospreys to support its region and beyond to help those in need of CPR, and we encourage our fans to help us share the steps to Save a Life over the coming months.”
If a cardiac arrest happens? Call 999. Call takers will talk you through how to do CPR and ask you to send someone else to get the nearest registered defibrillator, and how to access it. Every defibrillator will talk you through step-by-step what you need to do.