Hosted at Rectory Park, the home of Middlesex FA, the initiative will launch with Southall FC and aims to raise awareness of the importance of proactive health screening — not only for athletes competing regularly in sport, but for people throughout our community.

Puri Pharmacy will coordinate the screening day and carry out the resting 12-lead ECG recordings using the portable QT Medical PCA500 system. Each ECG will then be reviewed and interpreted by a UK cardiologist through Cardiologic’s reporting pathway.

Alongside the cardiac screening, Lenira Health will carry out blood tests, providing participants with an additional opportunity to gain greater insight into their health and wellbeing.

As a football club, we recognise that being physically fit and active does not necessarily rule out an underlying heart condition. Some conditions can be present with few or no obvious symptoms, making awareness, education and access to appropriate screening particularly important.

Southall FC has been selected as the first club to take part in the initiative, providing an opportunity to demonstrate how health screening can be incorporated within a football club environment and extended into the wider community. The ambition is for our launch to provide a platform from which more clubs and communities across Middlesex and the country can explore similar opportunities.

The occasion will have additional significance for Southall FC as the reigning Middlesex Senior Challenge Cup champions, with the trophy joining us for the launch on Thursday 22 October.

What Happens During the Screening?

Before screening, participants will provide information about relevant symptoms, medical history and family history, allowing their suitability for cardiac screening to be reviewed.

Puri Pharmacy will carry out a resting 12-lead ECG using the portable QT Medical PCA500 system. The ECG recording will subsequently be reviewed and interpreted by a UK cardiologist through Cardiologic’s reporting pathway.

Lenira Health will also be present to carry out blood tests, broadening the health and wellbeing support available as part of the initiative.

Where further cardiac assessment is recommended following the ECG, participants will be provided with guidance regarding the appropriate next steps.

Cardiac screening is available from £37 + VAT per participant, which includes the resting 12-lead ECG and UK cardiologist reporting. Any further investigations, specialist consultations or treatment are separate.

It is important to recognise that cardiac screening cannot identify every heart condition, guarantee safe participation in sport or provide a fitness-to-play certificate. Anyone experiencing symptoms such as chest pain, palpitations, unexplained breathlessness or fainting during exercise should seek appropriate medical assessment rather than waiting for a screening appointment.

More Than Football

For Southall FC, this initiative goes beyond player welfare.

We want to use the platform of our football club to help make important health services, information and preventative measures more visible and accessible to the people around us.

Players, coaches, referees, volunteers and members of the wider community can potentially benefit from greater awareness of their health, subject to individual suitability and age eligibility.

Working alongside Puri Pharmacy, Middlesex FA, Cardiologic and Lenira Health, we hope this first screening day can demonstrate what can be achieved when football, healthcare and community come together.

Could Your Club Be Next?

Our screening day is intended to be the starting point, not a one-off.

Following the Southall FC launch, clubs across Middlesex interested in putting health and wellbeing on their agenda will be encouraged to explore hosting their own cardiac screening day.

Clubs can enquire through Puri Pharmacy by providing their location, approximate participant numbers and ages, preferred dates and details of an appropriate private space for screening. Specific consent and safeguarding arrangements will apply for participants under 18.

Southall FC is proud to help launch an initiative designed to put health and wellbeing at the forefront — for our players, our clubs and our communities.