Parents fund scans for pupils after son's death
BBC/Jim ScottThe family of a young man who died from a sudden cardiac arrest say others will "get a chance" their son did not after privately funding hundreds of heart scans.
Lesley and Robin Perkins, the parents of 33-year-old Dan Cook, said it was a "shame" the NHS did not offer routine heart scans to people under 40.
The couple from Hartlepool have campaigned for this to be changed and have raised nearly £14,000 to pay for two sessions to screen pupils and members of the public for free.
The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) said a consultation into screening for young people was under way.
Up to 12 young people die from a hidden heart condition each week in the UK, according to awareness charity Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY).
"It's a shame the NHS doesn't do screenings so it's all up to us individuals, who have been through a sad loss, to put that money forward," Robin Perkins told the BBC.
"It's hard to try and keep asking people for money, but we keep going."
BBC/Jim ScottThe family returned to their son's secondary school, the High Tunstall College of Science in the town, to run the screenings in partnership with CRY.
The sessions, delivered by trained professionals, see patients offered an ECG scan and, if necessary, an ultrasound, before an on-site doctor analyses the results.
If there are any concerns, they are referred to their GP.
Lesley Perkins said it was "bittersweet" as she believed her son would still be alive had screenings been available for youngsters.
"At least we've done 200 people where 200 people will be screened, and at least one person will find out they will have something wrong with their heart.
"Isn't that amazing, that they get the chance our son didn't have?"
Dan's brother Thomas added it was "absolutely amazing" knowing the family were doing something so others "don't have to go what we went through".
'Fantastic work'
Headmaster Mark Tilling said he hoped more sessions would be run in the future.
"When the family approached me, I jumped at the chance. Why wouldn't you have them in?" he said.
"They've raised all this money in memory of Dan.
"Let's have it in our school... our alumni being recognised as part of what he [and] his family have done to support the children, why would you say no?"
A DHSC spokesperson praised the family's "fantastic work to raise awareness" around cardiac death in the young.
It said the UK National Screening Committee had since opened a public consultation relating to screening for conditions associated with sudden cardiac death in young people, and it encouraged people to submit evidence.
It added the NHS in England runs training sessions on first aid, CPR and the use of defibrillators, "thousands of which have been delivered by the government to local communities".
