Rugby League Stars Kick Off Life-saving Ambulance Service Campaign

Rising talent from the world of Rugby League kicked off a life-saving Yorkshire Ambulance’s Service campaign to improve cardiac arrest survival rates across the region.

Fifty players taking part in England Rugby League’s Diploma in Sporting Excellence (DiSE) learnt cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to mark the launch of the Restart a Heart campaign on 14 February.

The players, aged between 16 and 18, have the potential to reach the highest level of the women’s game, and were taught the life-saving skill by staff and volunteers from Yorkshire Ambulance Service in Huddersfield.

All secondary schools across Yorkshire can now sign up to provide their students with free life-saving training on Restart a Heart Day (Wednesday 16 October 2024) when it is expected that over 35,000 young people will learn CPR in one day.

Jason Carlyon, Community Engagement Manager with Yorkshire Ambulance Service, said: “We were pleased to teach CPR to these talented young players who are expected to progress through the ranks within the women’s Rugby League at the highest level and would like to thank them for supporting the launch of our Restart a Heart campaign.

“A cardiac arrest can happen to anyone of any age at any time and unfortunately we have seen numerous high-profile incidents involving sports professionals so it’s crucial that we engage with groups like this to teach vital skills and also raise awareness about the importance of CPR to a wider audience.”

The Rugby Football League’s DiSE Manager, Conor Meese, added: “We were delighted to welcome Yorkshire Ambulance Service to deliver this life-saving training to our DiSE students. No one will ever be able to predict when or where a cardiac arrest will happen, so I think it’s important we’re proactive and educate our players on what to do should it ever occur.

“The staff and students found the session really informative and eye opening, so I would encourage as many secondary schools as possible to get involved in this year’s Restart a Heart Day.”

Secondary schools can register for Restart a Heart Day 2024 by completing the form at https://survey.yas.nhs.uk/s/Restart-a-Heart-Day-SchoolRegistration-2024/ before the closing date on Friday 19 April.

Since the Yorkshire Ambulance Service Restart a Heart campaign began in 2014, 234,708 students have learnt CPR during 1,047 school visits thanks to ambulance staff and volunteers who have given 39,213 hours.

The event is supported by our very own Yorkshire Ambulance Service Charity which is committed to providing young people with life-saving education.

For more information visit, https://restartaheart.yas.nhs.uk/ or email yas.restartaheart@nhs.net