Sir Gavin Williamson attended a Cardiac Screening event in Weston as he urges for screening amongst young people to expand across Staffordshire.
The event at Weston Village Hall was organised by local residents Jane and Paul Phillips – in memory of their two sons, Christopher and Steven who sadly passed away due to cardiac events.
Up to 100 young people were screened for ‘hidden heart’ conditions. Every week in the UK, at least 12 apparently fit and healthy young people die from a previously undiagnosed heart condition.
Dr Steven Cox, Chief Executive of Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) said: “CRY’s screening programme now provides testing for over 30,000 young people in the UK every year. And, it’s only due to the incredible commitment and fundraising efforts of families and parents such as Jane and Paul that we are able to offer the programme at no cost to the individual when they sign up to be screened at www.testmyheart.org.uk
“We’re so grateful to the selfless support of the Phillips family over the past decade, following the unfathomable grief from the deaths of their two beloved sons, and we acknowledge that reaching (and exceeding) a total of 1,000 young people screened in memory of them both is a deeply moving milestone.”
Jane Phillips added: “Having lost two sons to a cardiac arrest before they were 30 years old, we wanted to try and save another family going through the heartache we have to live with every day.
“So, we felt driven to begin what has now become a decade-long campaign to fund and host heart screening in collaboration with CRY, in a bid to pick up undiagnosed heart conditions in
local young people. Myself, Paul and our son Craig, will always be so grateful for the wonderful support from our local community to have got us this far.”
Sir Gavin said: “Firstly, I would like to pay tribute to the outstanding work undertaken by Jane and Paul to highlight the enormous benefits of cardiac screening.
“In the face of unimaginable tragedy, Jane and Paul have undoubtedly saved other families from going through the horror of losing their children.
“Cardiac screening is vital to pick up otherwise unknown defects that would otherwise not be known to the individual.
“I will continue to work with local organisations and charities to promote the expansion of screening across the UK and Staffordshire.”
