Northern Counties East Football League (NCEL) has announced Resuscitation Council UK (RCUK) as their official charity partner, teaming up to spread a lifesaving message in communities across the North and East of England.
RCUK’s core aim is to ensure everyone in the UK has the skills and confidence to perform CPR. To achieve this, RCUK’s focus is to build local partnerships in targeted areas.
Out-of-hospital cardiac arrests affect over 100,000 people per year in the UK, but sadly the survival rate is less than one in ten, and survival falls by 10% for every minute a person doesn’t receive CPR or defibrillation.
Earlier this year, RCUK published a report that focused on addressing inequalities in resuscitation. The report highlighted parts of the UK that are cardiac hotspot areas (parts of the country with high incidence of cardiac arrest and low CPR bystander rates). Our research revealed several cardiac hotspot areas across the Northeast of England, where NCEL’s 42 teams are based.
Working together in partnership, RCUK and NCEL want to address these existing disparities for people living in these areas, giving them the skills and the confidence they need to save a life.
Professor Andrew Lockey MBE, RCUK President, said: “We are delighted to announce our partnership with NCEL, who are a key player in their local community. At RCUK, we have used a data-driven approach to target communities in the UK and focus on giving them the skills and confidence to save a life in the ultimate medical emergency. Harnessing the strength of sport to spread awareness of CPR will be invaluable and we are looking forward to seeing what our partnership with NCEL can achieve.”
Matt Jones, NCEL General Manager, commented: “Here at the NCEL we are thrilled to announce this link with RCUK. We hope that this inspiring initiative will empower the many players, supporters, and volunteers that are the beating heart of the NCEL as well as their wider communities. We know that if this campaign empowers a single person to have the confidence to take the action needed during a cardiac arrest, then a valuable difference will have been made.”
Winning points for cardiac health - our partnerships activities will focus on:
- Awareness – Displaying RCUK's heart-shaped CPQR codes on the player’s kit. When scanned, it shows a 2-minute informative video on how to do CPR.
- Training – Training as many people at NCEL how to do CPR and use a defibrillator so everyone can learn the skills to save a life.
- Cardiac awareness events – celebrating our partnership activities and CPR training in an event held at one of NCEL’s final matchdays inviting the local community to be part of this.