In June, Jack Hurley, a 19-year-old Loughborough student and keen football player, collapsed during a football match suffering from a sudden cardiac arrest. He was saved by a quick-thinking opposition player who recognised what was happening, and by the use of a nearby defibrillator, saving Jack’s life.

In the UK, the chances of survival from an out of hospital cardiac arrest are shockingly low, at 8%. However, this is increased to 70% when a defibrillator is used in the first three to five minutes of a cardiac arrest. Jack’s life was saved thanks to the installation of a defibrillator in the football grounds where the match was being played, just one year before.
This story is a vivid example of the need to enable quick access to defibrillators in as many key locations as possible, so that more defibrillators are made available to anyone suffering from a cardiac arrest within the crucial first few minutes after collapsing.
The Heart Restart Tax campaign is working to improve just that – VAT on defibs can add as much as £500 to life-saving devices, meaning many sports grounds, charities and community groups simply cannot afford to have one installed.
More success stories like Jack’s depend on the widespread rollout of defibrillators in central community settings – we need to make these devices as affordable as possible to make this a reality.
Jack said: “I just remember passing the ball then waking up two days later in hospital. What happened to me could happen to anyone. It doesn’t matter if you’re young and play sport all the time. The chances of surviving an out of hospital cardiac arrest are just shocking so as a country we must improve this.”
Bill Lee, Head of Policy at the British Healthcare Trades Association, said:
“Jack’s story is precisely why we have launched this campaign: the tragedy that an overwhelming majority do not survive out-of-hospital cardiac arrests can easily be avoided, as long as we take steps to ensure all sport organisations, like Jack’s, and other community groups are able to afford them. Scrapping the ‘heart restart’ tax is a simple means of doing so.”
Read more about Jack’s story in the Daily Mirror: Footballer who collapsed with cardiac arrest is saved by opposition player - Mirror Online