[Official Site] BRITISH RED CROSS FIRST AID CAMPAIGN

The British Red Cross is encouraging footballers to learn first aid.
Image by: The Red Cross

PUBLISHED
12:41 13th September 2016
The charity is urging footballers to learn vital first aid skills.
With an estimated 1.9 million people taking part in football at least once a week in England, the British Red Cross is calling on football players, clubs and coaches to learn the essential skills needed to act in an emergency.*
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The call comes as part of the charity’s #UpYourGame campaign which hopes to encourage an increasingly active British public to learn first aid.
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New research revealed by the charity today shows that 89% of footballers think sports people have a responsibility to look after each other, yet almost half (43%) would not have the confidence to help their team-mates in a first aid emergency.
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The research revealed a significant gap between footballers who have learnt first aid and those who haven’t. Of those who had learnt first aid, 65% reported that they would feel confident and willing to help in a first aid emergency, yet this figure dropped to only 28% when players had not learnt first aid.
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Sir Trevor Brooking CBE, the former West Ham and England legend, recently learnt first aid with the Red Cross, and is a supporter of the campaign. He said: “If someone is injured it’s always better to be prepared and have the confidence to act. Learning first aid with the British Red Cross gives you basic skills that can have a real impact.
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“Taking part in this first aid session brought back the stark memory of watching the match when Fabrice Muamba had a cardiac arrest on the pitch. Fabrice was so lucky that he had trained medical professionals around him who helped to save his life. At a community level this often isn’t the case.
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“Having learnt first aid it’s really made me realise how important it is to know what to do when any injury happens.”

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The campaign includes a series of videos that celebrate sportspeople helping in a first aid emergency. One of these films features a footballer who helps his team-mate when he hits his head during a friendly game of football.Some 14% of those surveyed said they had witnessed at close hand someone who had sustained a head injury while playing football. Despite this, over half (51%) said they would not have the confidence to help someone in this situation.*
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Joe Mulligan, head of first aid education at The British Red Cross said: “Nothing should stand in the way of someone pursuing their much-loved sporting activity. But injuries and accidents do happen from time to time.
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“We want to enable people to feel confident and willing to help anyone when faced with a first aid emergency. Learning first aid helps to increase confidence levels and we believe it’s a life skill everyone should have.*
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“The benefits of first aid are well recognised and our new #UpYourGame campaign hopes to encourage an active British public to incorporate first aid learning into their sporting routine.”
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The British Red Cross is calling on footballers to watch and share the #UpYourGame video and visit redcross.org.uk/sportsfirstaid for free first aid advice for footballers.






Original article