Dr Ffion Davies, Consultant Specialist in Emergency Medicine, UHL NHS Trust & JHMT Medical Lead

As the patron of Joe's Trust (JHMT) I would like to thank everyone who has contributed so much time and effort to this year's annual SADS Awareness Week 2017 programme. Once again, a timely reminder for us all about the importance of people having the basic CPR lifesaving skills and knowing how to use a defibrillator. What a bystander does or does not do in those vital few seconds and minutes following a collapse can be the difference between surviving or not, which tragically is the case for so many people every year in the UK (27,000 potentially survivable deaths including young people). Simple Skills really do save lives and CPR can buy vital time. If more and people understand this one message during this year's SADS Week and take a few minutes to learn CPR so to be better prepared to save a life then we really can make further inroads into giving someone a better chance of survival. 'Thank you' also to the loyal band of willing volunteers who give up so much of their time and share their many talents to help JHMT raise awareness of SADS and goal to reduce the incidence of sudden cardiac deaths in young people (12 – 35 years old) like Joe.

Martin Johnson CBE - patron of JHMT