Free cardiac screenings for young people from Dumfries and Galloway have been organised for April by the region’s DH9 Foundation.
Lesley and Rodger Hill announced the dates of April 12 and 13, when they were guest speakers at Tuesday’s Dumfries Probus Club meeting.
It has been established in memory of David Hill, a former St. Joseph’s College pupil, who died at the age of 30 from an undiagnosed heart condition, on a rugby field in Dublin in March 2022.
The pair, representing the DH9 Foundation, gave an emotive and inspiring talk to explain the charitable work they have been doing since his death, and how the potential-life saving initiative from fundraising efforts across the region came to be, in his name.
The screening will take place at The Cairndale Hotel and Spa and is for anyone from the region – aged 14 to 35 – who wants to be checked.
But they need to register their interest online now at: www.testmyheart.org.uk.
More could follow in June and September – with 200 in each session.
Rodger has said they are “giving other families in the region an opportunity that we never had for David.”
Explaining that it has been made possible thanks to support for their fundraising, he said: “I think David would be happy that we are doing something positive and not just sitting back. My wife Lesley and I and David’s mum Sharon and her husband Gordon are doers and we want to make a positive change.”
“It is bitter-sweet because we will never know if, had a screening been given to David, the outcome would have been different. But this is all very positive.”
David suddenly collapsed – with no prior symptoms – whilst playing a cross-party rugby match for Holyrood against Dail and Seanad XV at the Donnybrook Stadium in Dublin as part of the Parliamentary Six Nations.
Originally from Dumfriesshire, David worked for several MSPs during his time at Holyrood and at the time of his death he had been working for Jamie Greene MSP. David’s popularity and hardworking reputation led to him being posthumously named Parliamentary Staffer of the Year in September 2022 at the Holyrood Magazine Awards.
Donations and fundraising – including the Cycle4David event last March – to The David Hill Memorial Fund raised more than £70,000 for CRY (Cardiac Risk in the Young) to bring a screening programme to the region earlier this year.
It gave the first ECG and a one-to-one consultation with a cardiologist to an inaugural 200 young people from across Dumfries and Galloway – a positive from the tragedy.
Since then, their work has become the DH9 Foundation – as a scrum-half, David wore the No. 9 shirt on the rugby field.
Every week in the UK, around 12 young people (that is aged 35 and under) die suddenly from a previously diagnosed heart condition – 80 per cent with no prior symptoms. Young Sudden Cardiac Death (YSCD) is an umbrella term for several different heart conditions that affect fit and healthy people which, if not treated can result in sudden death.
As well as raising awareness of young sudden cardiac death, DH9 Foundation supports the Scottish Government Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) Strategy 2021 to 2026, which aims encourage an increased willingness to deliver CPR and defibrillation among people who witness an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.
It also provide free CPR training and defibrillators to schools and community organisations in Dumfries and Galloway, with more details at www.dh9foundation.org for more information.
The Probus Club meets in the Woodlands Hotel, Dumfries twice monthly and is due to celebrate its 50th anniversary.