Rugby player, 20, saved by team-mates after his heart stops on the pitch
A YOUNG rugby player’s life was saved by his team-mates after his heart stopped when he collapsed in the middle of a game.
Hamish Bell, 20, was playing a match at Blairgowrie Rugby Football Club when he fell to the ground in a fit and went into cardiac arrest on Tuesday.
In scenes echoing the collapse of Christian Eriksen during Denmark’s recent football match against Finland, Mr Bell’s first aidtrained team-mates rushed to his side to perform CPR and use a defibrillator to restart his heart.
He was taken to Ninewells Hospital, Dundee, where he was recovering yesterday.
Mr Bell’s father, Arthur, thanked the players for their quick thinking.
He said: ‘All I can say is that without the prompt action of the club members in attendance, my son would not be alive today, for which myself, family and Hamish’s friends shall be eternally grateful.’
Mark Reddin, president of the Perthshire club, is proud of how his team responded.
He said: ‘We’ve got a couple of guys who are police officers at the club, and two of them knew what to do straight away and started giving CPR. ‘Everybody there jumped into action and did exactly what they are supposed to do. Hamish is a young guy, about to turn 21, and I’m delighted that he has survived this.’
Mr Reddin described what happened during the touch game.
He said: ‘It was about 7pm and Hamish fell to the ground. I think he was holding his head and he started fitting. It was clear it was a big issue. He couldn’t breathe and his lips were turning blue.’
Mr Reddin said the incident has also shown how valuable defibrillators are at sporting venues, saying: ‘Hamish actually had his heart stop.
‘It was the defibrillator that brought him back. It’s worth its weight in gold.
‘What this shows is the importance of these machines – the fact that having it there can even save one life.’
The issue of players suffering heart problems, such as cardiac arrests, during matches has received attention at the highest level of sport recently.
Scotland’s international rugby players have been given life-saving CPR lessons in the wake of Eriksen suffering a cardiac arrest on the pitch during a Euro 2020 match this month. When Eriksen collapsed during the Group B game, Denmark captain Simon Kjaer moved him into the recovery position and performed CPR before medics arrived to resuscitate the 29-year-old. He has since been discharged from hospital. Scottish Rugby Union medical chief Dr James Robson insisted on teaching the 37-man squad how to carry out the life-saving procedure and emphasised to them that learning CPR could help save a life. Scotland international Kyle Steyn was among the players taught how to do CPR by Dr Robson at the Oriam sports performance centre on the outskirts of Edinburgh. He said the squad all realised its importance, saying the Eriksen incident ‘has brought it into focus’. The winger added: ‘It was the onfield response that kept him alive. That kind of incident highlights how fundamental it can be to have those basic skills. ‘[Dr Robson] thought after it happened on the football field it could happen on the rugby field and [CPR training] could save a life.’ He added that Eriksen’s emergency treatment ‘was a really wellhandled situation and he has come out the other side’.