Former European Ryder Cup captain Bernard Gallacher yesterday launched a nationwide campaign which could potentially help to save the lives of golfers of all abilities and ages.
Drawing on his own experience of suffering a sudden cardiac arrest – Gallacher was hospitalised in August after collapsing during a dinner reception in Aberdeen – the 1995 winning captain was joined by a host of friends and colleagues from the worlds of sport and showbusiness at Wentworth Club to activate the Bernard Gallacher Defibrillator Campaign 2014.
It was only thanks to the availability of an automated external defibrillator (AED) following his collapse earlier this year, along with early-response cardiopulmonary resuscitation treatment at the venue, that Gallacher was able to regain consciousness and take steps towards a full recovery.
However, that close brush with death inspired Gallacher and his wife, Lesley, to announce plans to lead a campaign for AEDs to be widely available in every golf club and driving range in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
With the Gallachers’ profile and encouragement, allied to a fundraising campaign being run concurrently with the PGA and Arrhythmia Alliance – the Heart Rhythm Charity – an estimated 2600 golfing venues and around 4,000,000 club golfers could benefit from the campaign.
Gallacher, who was speaking at the campaign launch in the ballroom of the clubhouse where he spent more than 20 years as a club professional, said: “I consider myself incredibly fortunate that a defibrillator was on hand in Aberdeen to resuscitate me following my sudden cardiac arrest. But for that AED and the quick-thinking, expertise and life-saving skills of the medical personnel in the room that night, I wouldn’t be here today.
“Without early intervention, an individual has just a 5 per cent chance of surviving a sudden cardiac arrest, so Lesley and I felt it appropriate to try to ensure others are equally fortunate should they collapse in or around a golfing venue in future.
“Currently, just 30 per cent of golf clubs have a defibrillator, and our stated aim is to try to raise awareness of the importance of having an AED close by in case of emergency, and to increase that figure considerably by encouraging every club or driving range in the UK and Ireland to have at least one public-access defibrillator by the end of 2014.
“Cardiac arrest can happen to anyone at any time, and possibly on the golf course.
“We want to do whatever it takes to raise the level of awareness of defibrillators and to get them into more clubs around the country.”
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