We’d like to take this opportunity to raise awareness of the importance of basic life support training and the availability/use of defibrillators, following Saturday’s 1st XI friendly between Clydesdale and Teddington at Auchenhowie, home of Western Wildcats Hockey Club.
A couple of minutes shy of half time, Clydesdale’s Ewan Fraser, aged 30, collapsed on the pitch while playing in the game. Teammates were on hand quickly to respond and put Ewan into the recovery position. However, it quickly became clear that Ewan had lost consciousness and had stopped breathing. He had suffered a cardiac arrest. Spectators called emergency services as well as collecting a defibrillator (AED), while CPR was administered on the pitch. Ewan had to be given two shocks to successfully restart his heart. Thankfully, just 9 minutes after 999 was called, an ambulance arrived on scene and Ewan was taken to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital for further care. Ewan has already made remarkable progress in the following days, but it will no doubt be a long road to full recovery. But as a club, we are hopeful that Ewan will continue to make the excellent strides he has done since Saturday.
According to the British Heart Foundation, less than 1 in 10 people survive a sudden out of hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). If a defibrillator is used within the first minute of arrest, the survival rate can be as high as 90%. If used within the first 3 to 5 minutes, the likelihood of survival is 74%. The club cannot stress enough the importance of having a defibrillator in close attendance during any sporting event that takes place. We hope that everyone reading this appreciates the value of them and spreads the news across the country. We ask all hockey clubs in Scotland to please review their safety procedures – in particular, whether they have a defibrillator available for use pitch-side, in case a similar scenario occurs. We would also urge all members of Clydesdale, and all other hockey clubs, to consider attending a defibrillator and CPR first aid training course. The training received may come in handy and crucially save someone’s life.
We would like to take this time to thank Ewan’s teammates & the spectators of Saturday’s friendly who attended to crucially aid Ewan. In particular to Western Wildcats Hockey Club for the use of their recently acquired defibrillator as well as their assistance in attaining the help of emergency services. And finally, the club would like to send our best wishes to Ewan. Our thoughts and prayers are with Ewan as he continues in his recovery.
