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TRANMERE ROVERS BECOME A COMMUNITY FIRST RESPONDER
Tranmere Rovers are working with colleagues in the NHS and North West Ambulance Service to become the first professional football club to be a Community First Responder (“ CFR ”) hub for Birkenhead and are calling for volunteers to apply to join the CFR team .
Many of our readers would have followed the recent Euros , and would have watched in horror at the tragic unfolding of events in one of the first games , Denmark vs Finland . In that game , Denmark ’ s top player , Christian Eriksen suffered a cardiac arrest , and the incident highlighted the importance of reacting quickly in that situation .
When someone has a cardiac arrest or other medical emergency , speed is of the essence in getting medical assistance to them . Ambulance services work with CFRs , who are trained volunteers within the community who would be called out by the ambulance service to attend as a first responder to give life-saving treatment as quickly as possible .
The CFRs are trained in resuscitation and basic treatment of other medical emergencies and are equipped with the basic medical equipment they need to assist , including a defibrillator and oxygen .
Jens Kleinfeld was the German emergency doctor in the stands that night , saw the trauma developing and rushed to Eriksen ’ s aide . He highlighted , “ The shocks by the defibrillator were key to bringing Eriksen back to life . If the defibrillator is administered within the first two minutes the chance of survival is almost 90 % and with every minute lost , the probability drops by 10 %.
“ So speed is of the essence . It took two or three minutes for Eriksen to get the electric shock . That meant his chance of survival was very high ,” he said .
Shortly after receiving the shocks , Eriksen regained consciousness . “ He opened his eyes and spoke to me . I asked him , in English : ‘ Are you back again ?’ He said : ‘ Yes ,
I am here ’. And then he said : ‘ Oh ***, I ’ ve only just turned 29 years old .”
Tranmere are looking to recruit an initial cohort of 14 individuals to join the CFR team . Successful candidates will be selected by NWAS and receive training at Prenton Park by qualified medical staff . Once fully trained and assessed by NWAS , they would indicate when they are free to be called to emergencies within Birkenhead and the surrounding areas .
Mark Palios , the Tranmere Rovers Chairman , and former player said : “ As someone who has experienced two cardiac arrests as a result of a freak football accident , I am well aware of the importance of life-saving treatment being started as quickly as possible .
“ At its simplest , this scheme will get that treatment to emergencies quicker than could otherwise happen , and it will literally save lives in our local community . That is , in and of itself , a pretty good reason for Tranmere to support it and the reason why Nicola and I will both personally be applying to be CFRs .
“ I cannot imagine anything more rewarding to do than to help save a life . I hope that the Club ’ s involvement will help to raise the profile of the scheme and , if the pilot is successful , become a model that other football clubs can follow .”
Anthony Taylor , the top English referee was officiating at the Denmark game commented , “ It doesn ' t matter how fit , or young , or old we think we are , a sudden cardiac arrest can happen to anyone at any point in time , so that , to me , highlights the importance of having these defibrillator units available everywhere possible and for people to understand why we need them and how to use them ."
Anyone who would like to apply to be a Community First Responder should e-mail CFR @ tranmererovers . co . uk for more information .
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