England rugby union legend Martin Johnson urges Nottinghamshire coaches to get cardiac arrest training

Former England rugby union captain and Head Coach Martin Johnson has called on sports coaches across Nottinghamshire to get vital cardiac arrest training as part of a campaign to raise awareness of undiagnosed heart conditions. 

Johnson is a patron of The Joe Humphries Memorial Trust, which was set up in 2012 to break the 'silence' on SADS (Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome), after the tragic loss of teenager Joe Humphries, who died while out jogging with his friend in October 2012.

The appeal is specifically aimed at grassroots clubs and sports coaches who are often the first port of call when incidents happen on the pitch, court or in the gym. 

Johnson, who famously captained England to World Cup glory in 2003, said: “Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) can affect anyone, regardless of age or fitness, including young people and high-performance athletes, but more lives could be saved if every sports club had an accessible AED, more people were able to recognise cardiac arrest, and those in sports clubs, but especially coaches, were trained to respond quickly in an emergency.

The charity has teamed up with UK Coaching to tackle the issue by offering free training for sports coaches and sports clubs. The 30-minute online training gives learners the knowledge and skills to respond quickly to a sudden cardiac arrest.

 To find out more about the free course created by UK Coaching, JHMT, Resuscitation Council UK and St John Ambulance visit www.ukcoaching.org/courses and for more information on SADS Week go to www.jhmt.org.uk