The Birch Lends A Hand To CPR Training On Restart A Heart Day
- To celebrate Restart A Heart Day, Alan 'The Birch' Birchenall joins Leicester City in the Community to deliver CPR and defibrillator training
- In 2017, The Birch suffered a cardiac arrest, but was saved by CPR and the use of a defibrillator at Leicester Tigers' Welford Road
- Alongside the East Midlands Ambulance Service, Leicester City in the Community staff delivered a workshop in the Community Hub
- Children from partner primary schools were invited along with parents and guardians to the free event at King Power Stadium
In January 2017, our much-loved Club Ambassador survived a cardiac arrest at the Leicester Mercury Sports Awards following life-saving medical intervention and the use of a defibrillator at Welford Road.
Throughout The Birch's life, both before and after that incident, the former Foxes star has campaigned for more CPR training and the installation of defibrillators across Leicestershire and Rutland.
Those efforts continued as schoolchildren from all four corners of the county were joined by parents and guardians to participate in a relaxed, yet informative, afternoon on Filbert Way.
Schoolchildren from partner schools Stokes Wood Primary School, Forest Lodge Academy, St. Mary's Field Primary School and Alderman Richard Hallam Primary School were all in attendance in the Community Hub.
The Birch Promotes CPR Training At King Power Stadium
Leicester City Club Ambassador Alan 'The Birch' Birchenall hosts pupils from across Leicestershire on Restart A Heart Day to explain the importance of CPR training.
Across the United Kingdom, there are over 30,000 cardiac arrests outside of hospital each year, but statistics state that only one in 10 people survive - a figure Restart A Heart Day is designed to improve.
With the help of staff from the East Midlands Ambulance Service, Leicester City in the Community staff passed on tips, before The Birch spoke to the gathering about the importance of CPR and defibrillators.
Explaining his reasons for supporting the cause, The Birch told LCFC TV: "It’s so, so important for obvious reasons [after] my incident just over two years ago. If it saves one life… you can’t quantify it.
"It’s magic to see the young kids doing this, but we’ve rolled out a programme throughout Leicestershire and Rutland. I’m happy to be a patron of Heartwize, one of the charities.
"There’s many of them now that realise how important CPR is. Basically, it saves lives – if you know how to do it properly. If there’s a defibrillator in the vicinity, even better.
"If you have a cardiac arrest, at the moment, the chances of survival are one in 10… so 10 out of a 100, the other 90 don’t make it.
"The more people that learn CPR, and the more defibrillators we can get out there in the county and beyond, the more lives that are going to be saved."
For Schools Sports Officer, Ryan Bromyard, on the other hand, it was pleasing to see the participants show so much enthusiasm - and he also praised The Birch for his dedication to such an important cause.
Bromyard said: "We’ve got some of our partner primary schools here along with us to celebrate the day, but we’ve also invited their parents along to learn a life skill, CPR.
"It’s in partnership with EMAS, so East Midlands Ambulance Services, and they’ve come along, kindly, today to run the workshop for us.
"The Birch is such a fantastic Club Ambassador. It’s personal to him, that’s why he’s here at the event today, but he’s also here because of his good spirits.
"He shares the Leicester City love with everybody and he’s just a fantastic role model to have here today."
For more information about the work done by Leicester City in the Community across the region, please click HERE.