NEW life-saving equipment has been installed at Rugby Town Football Club.
The club was named one of the winners of a prize draw for an award-winning iPAD SP1 defibrillator, having recently doubled their life-saving capabilities with the purchase of a new unit in support of a British Heart Foundation and Football Association backed initiative.
The FA HeartSafe Clubs programme was launched last year to encourage all grassroots clubs to invest in life-saving equipment, backed by defibrillator manufacturer WEL Medical.
WEL Medical’s national sales manager Paul Mulvey visited the Butlin Road stadium to hand over the defibrillator to Town director Mike Yeats, and met members of the club’s Football Academy where the new unit will be located.
Mike said: “We felt it was very important that we should back this excellent initiative and therefore invested in a unit for the main grandstand – to complement the one we already had in the clubhouse.
“We were then delighted to have been selected for the iPAD SP1 model too. This will enable us to provide extended coverage for the other side of the ground and most specifically for our rapidly expanding academy.
“We are now able to provide full strategic cover for the senior, academy, junior and girls’ sections at the club – both in the stadium and on the training pitches, and also ensure that life-saving devices are available for all spectators and other visitors from the community using the ground and its facilities.”
Paul added: “The FA initiative is vital in raising awareness of the importance of having a life-saving defibrillator because performing CPR alone may not be enough to save a life. The chance of survival drops by 10 percent for every minute lost without the use of a defibrillator.”
All grassroots clubs in England can apply for a defibrillator. Visit www.footballdefibs.org for more information.
