Live-saving defibrillators should be provided at amateur sports grounds, a Glasgow MSP has said.

Sandesh Gulhane, Conservative MSP for Glasgow, called on the Scottish government to help with the costs to roll out equipment and training across the country.

He made the call after Denmark footballer Christian Eriksen had to be resuscitated on the pitch after collapsing shortly before half-time in the Euro 2021 match against Finland.

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The MSP, who is also a club doctor with Queen’s Park FC, said the incident should encourage people to learn CPR to be able to save a life if necessary.

He asked Maree Todd, Scottish Government minister for public health and sport if the government would consider subsiding the equipment.

Glasgow Times:

He said: “We are all relieved that Christian Eriksen received first class medical attention when he collapsed on Saturday and it appears that his condition is improving, but across Scotland there are small amateur sports grounds that don’t have access to the level of on-site medical support that large teams have and so it is crucial that they have access to life saving equipment, like defibrillators, but also that more people have the confidence and training to be able to use them safely.”

Todd said that action has already helped to improve the chances of surviving a heart attack.

Glasgow Times:

She said: “In 2015, the Scottish Government, working with our partners in the Save a Life for Scotland partnership, launched an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest strategy. Since then, more than 640,000 people in Scotland have been trained in the skills that are needed to perform CPR. In 2015, only one in 20 people survived a cardiac arrest; the rate has now increased to one in 10.”

She added that provision of equipment like defibrillators was the responsibility for individual clubs and sporting governing bodies.”

Gulhane also asked about action to ensure more people could learn CPR skills.

He added: “Knowing how to perform CPR saves lives. The more people in Scotland who know how to do CPR the better.”

The minister replied the Chrisian Eriksen incident should inspire people to learn CPR.

She said: “In 2019, all 32 local authorities committed to a systematic and sustainable model of CPR learning that would result in every secondary school pupil leaving school with CPR skills.

“I have absolutely no doubt that Covid will have impacted on that for children in the final years leaving school, but I also have great confidence that the particular incident that we are discussing will remind people of, and focus their attention on, the need for absolutely every single one of us to learn CPR, so that if somebody has a cardiac arrest near us, we know to call for help, dial 999 and perform CPR.”