England stars including legends Steven Gerrard and his former Liverpool teammate Jamie Carragher also give a boost to the Mirror campaign to make defibrillators a legal requirement in all public places.
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England stars Raheem Sterling, Kyle Walker and Jordan Henderson have joined the fight to make lifesaving defibrillators mandatory for schools and sports clubs.
It is a boost to our campaign to make defibrillators – also known as AEDs – a legal requirement in all public places.
Ex-England captain Steven Gerrard and his former Liverpool teammate Jamie Carragher also back the move.
A letter from Dr Zafar Iqbal – who is head of sports medicine at Crystal Palace – was sent to every MP and Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
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It highlighted the importance of having access to defibrillators when someone has suffered a Sudden Cardiac Arrest – and detailed how far the UK is behind other developed countries when it comes to this.
The letter also championed the Oliver King Foundation – which has been campaigning for defibrillators to be mandatory in schools for a decade.
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It started work in 2011 after Oliver King, 12, suffered a SCA in a swimming race at school, but because there was not a defibrillator close by, he could not be saved.
Footballer Fabrice Muamba – who suffered a SCA on the pitch while playing for Bolton in 2012 – also signed the letter, as did cricketer Moeen Ali, Palace star Wilfried Zaha and Liverpool icon, Sir Kenny Dalglish.
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Jim Shannon MP is set to bring a second reading of a bill to make defibrillators mandatory for schools and sports clubs to parliament on September 10.
Dr Iqbal said the ambulance service in England attempts resuscitation in around 30,000 cases per year but they are rarely able to provide defibrillation early enough for the patient to survive.
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He wrote: “Following SCA, survival rates drop by 7-10% every minute without defibrillation and therefore it is essential AEDs are publicly accessible as they are only used in 5-10% out of hospital arrests currently.
“In the US, where there is a school-based AED program, there is a resuscitation rate
as high as 71%.
“AEDs shouldn’t be just for professional athletes.”
