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Welford Road hosts healthcare conference

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Welford Road hosts a pioneering conference for healthcare practitioners next week and there is still time to book.

The second annual SADS Awareness Conference, which examines sudden heart deaths in young people, is being organised by the Joe Humphries Memorial Trust (JHMT) in conjunction with the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, is at Welford Road stadium on Tuesday (October 14).
 
More than 35 delegates attended last year, and bookings are already up on that number this year. But medical professionals are being reminded that they can still join the conference to find out more about conditions such as sudden arrhythmic death syndrome (SADS).
 
This week is SADS Awareness Week, a week of activities organised by JHMT to spread the message about sudden heart deaths in young people and what can be done to prevent them.
 
The week takes the theme ‘don’t be faint-hearted’ and highlights how fainting without warning in otherwise healthy individuals can be one of the symptoms of an unexplained heart condition such as SADS.
 
SADS is part of a group of subtle heart diseases that claim the lives of 12 teenagers and young adults, aged 12-35, every week in the UK.
 
Steve Humphries, chairman of the Joe Humphries Memorial Trust, said: “We’re lifting the lid on these heart diseases and we are encouraged that key medical practitioners are taking steps to tackle this silent killer. The annual SADS Awareness Conference in Leicester gives them the perfect platform to do so.”
 
Dr Ffion Davies, consultant in A&E at Leicester’s Hospitals, said:  “It’s vital that we increase awareness of this condition and its warning signs among NHS staff. This conference will allow us to share key messages about SADS, and I’m pleased to give it my full support.”
 
The conference opens at 10am with an address by rugby legend Martin Johnson, patron of the charity, and features a range of speakers, including Professor Charles Deakin, professor of resuscitation and pre-hospital emergency medicine at the University of Southampton NHS Trust, who will talk about how good we are in the UK at detecting SADS and reacting to cardiac arrest compared with other countries.
 
Workshops will cover topics such as recognising patterns in ECGs, the role of pre-hospital ambulance staff and setting up diagnostic services for suspected patients or bereaved families.
 
To book a place, please apply online at http://www.jhmt.org.uk