Match day first aid

With the footbal season kicking off once again, volunteers for St John Ambulance are set to deploy hundreds of first aiders across the country.

In London alone, the charity will despatch members to the home games of Premier League football clubs Arsenal, Chelsea, Fulham, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham as well as Championship League clubs Crystal Palace and Queens Park Rangers.

Volunteers also provide medical cover to football clubs in both League One and League Two (including Brentford, Barnet, Charlton Athletic, Leyton Orient and Millwall).

12 of the 13 top London football clubs across the capital will receive support. Around 5,500 volunteers give up their time to cover first aid at home games treating over 1,000 members of the public across the season.

Over the years, St John Ambulance London has dealt with a variety of incidents across the many football clubs it is contracted to work with. From sprains and strains to heat exhaustion, heart attacks and injuries resulting from fan disagreements - members are on hand to provide medical assistance when ever needed.

In addition to providing first aid assistance to fans, St John Ambulance play a significant role in the consultation process between football clubs and the local authority to ensure the effective delivery of first aid.

When the new Emirates Stadium was opened in July 2006, St John Ambulance in London played its part in ensuring the football club invested in ECG equipment, which has proven to play a vital duty in dealing with heart attack victims.

Dave Bell, Assistant Commissioner (Operations), said: ‘We have been providing medical cover at football clubs across London for many years.

‘In addition to our members being in place to carry out first aid when needed, we also play a significant part in the discussion of stadium issues and are able to help put measures in place to ensure best practice.’