SFP Trust Defibrillator Project 2019 – #Safeguarding Clubs and Communities
Stonehaven Community F.C.
This year, The Scottish Football Partnership Trust (SFPT) has teamed up with The Kilpatrick Fraser Charitable Trust (KFCT) to put together a new funding strand which will see 12 community football clubs provided with a lifesaving defibrillator.
In 2015 Parliament passed the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 giving more rights to community bodies to take over land and buildings in public ownership through asset transfer. Since then, many grassroots community football clubs and organisations across all parts of Scotland have benefitted from these new rights and have been able to take over football pitches and pavilions via Community Asset Transfer. Essentially these football clubs have evolved into becoming community service and facility providers and in recognition of this, the SFPT and the KFCT were keen to assist safeguard the health and wellbeing of players, coaches, parents, grandparents and other members of the wider community who attend these facilities on a weekly basis.
Stonehaven Community F.C. recently received a defibrillator through this new scheme to help safeguard the users of the Mineralwell Park Pavilion and 3G pitch. Richard Thomas, the clubs coach coordinator, said “At present our club has around 450 Stonehaven youth members and circa 100 adult members from Stonehaven FC, Cowie Thistle FC, Stonehaven Athletic FC and Stonehaven Ladies FC. The facilities are always fully utilised for training, matches, football festivals and local school activities. On a weekly basis the facilities can see a footfall of approximately 1.5k people either playing football, cricket, rugby, local school activities or family members spectating. We are so grateful to the SFP Trust and the KFCT for supporting our club and community through this fantastic scheme.
British Heart Foundation – Why defibrillators for your community are important?
“Communities can play a big part in creating a nation of life savers. Having a defibrillator in your community and training people in CPR means that more people will know what to do when someone has a cardiac arrest.”
Does my community need a defibrillator?
“Yes, your community needs a defibrillator. For every minute someone is in cardiac arrest without CPR and access to a defibrillator, their chances of survival drops by up to 10%.
Having access to a defibrillator in an emergency can be lifesaving, especially in rural areas where ambulance response times may be longer.”
What are the benefits of having a defibrillator in my community?
“Less than 1 in 10 people in the UK survive an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. This has been partly attributed to two factors that communities can change:
• There aren’t enough people prepared to perform CPR when someone has a cardiac arrest
• There aren’t enough defibrillators
By having a defibrillator in your community and by training people in CPR, you can play an important part in saving more lives.”
*Since 2012, The Scottish Football Partnership and Trust has invested over £200,000 in upskilling around 2,250 coach volunteers in Sports First Aid in conjunction with the Hampden Sports Clinic.