The Leonardo Hinckley Island Hotel buzzed with extraordinary vitality on Saturday, seventeenth Might 2025, as we hosted our landmark “10 Years Together” conference. What started with simply 13 strangers assembly in a London pub in February 2015 has flourished right into a thriving neighborhood managing teams with collectively effectively over 3,000 members, bringing collectively nearly 200 attendees for this milestone celebration.
The dedication of our neighborhood was evident within the distances individuals travelled to be with us. Attendees journeyed from throughout the UK and past (France and Italy), with many making vital journeys to be a part of this particular gathering. The occasion attracted an exquisite mixture of each first-time attendees and returning neighborhood members, creating the right mix of contemporary views and acquainted faces that makes our gatherings so particular.
Your response to our suggestions request was overwhelming—over a 3rd of attendees shared their ideas with us, and their insights have been each constructive and profoundly transferring. These responses spotlight what makes our occasions so important to the cardiac arrest neighborhood and underscore the profound impression of bringing collectively individuals who actually perceive this distinctive journey.
The Unstated Lifeline: Feeling Understood and Not Alone
Probably the most highly effective theme rising out of your suggestions centres on the irreplaceable worth of peer assist. Many described feeling remoted or like a “unicorn” after their cardiac arrest—comprehensible given the low survival charges and rarity of assembly others who actually comprehend this expertise. The “10 Years Together” occasion supplied a treasured alternative to attach face-to-face with individuals who “GET IT”.
One attendee captured this completely:
“[the] alternative to be with different individuals, who perceive what we now have been by way of, was extraordinarily particular”.
One other shared:
“[I] completely love these meet-ups, essential to my therapeutic course of. Nice to meet up with others who’ve skilled the identical. There aren’t many different individuals I see or communicate to on a day-to-day foundation who ‘get it’ however most others right here do.”
This shared expertise creates an immediate bond that transcends typical social boundaries. It’s a constant thread in suggestions from all SCA UK occasions, together with our earlier massive gatherings, “Not Alone” (2019) and “Survive and Thrive” (2023), the place attendees have described assembly fellow survivors because the “finest expertise” since their cardiac occasion and likened it to receiving “remedy”. Being amongst individuals who share this frequent journey is “extraordinarily beneficial”, offering “understanding and expertise of actual individuals.”
Data is Energy: Priceless Classes and Skilled Insights
Past the invaluable peer connections, our academic classes acquired distinctive reward for his or her relevance and sensible worth. Attendees overwhelmingly rated classes as “extraordinarily related” or “very related” and “extraordinarily useful” or “very useful”.
The morning started with everybody collectively, that includes an emotional and provoking video that mirrored on ten years of our neighborhood. This set the scene for a shared studying expertise that strengthened our bonds.
All sessions acquired excellent suggestions, with attendees appreciating how our professional audio system, together with main cardiologists and scientific psychologists, conveyed advanced medical data in clear, accessible methods. As one attendee shared: “The audio system had been glorious, very informative and put throughout in a means that was straightforward to know.” One other famous: “All of the classes had been good and informative”.
The afternoon breakout classes supplied essential areas for extra targeted discussions. The devoted boards for survivors and co-survivors supplied an open area for the sharing and processing of experiences, whereas the Healthcare Professionals track supplied beneficial insights for medical professionals. As one participant famous, the co-survivor assembly was “helpful for chatting with others,” and the CPR coaching classes supplied sensible, life-saving expertise that one attendee thought of “well worth the value of admission.”
Distinguished Friends and European Recognition
We had been honoured to welcome a number of distinctive company who elevated our occasion with their experience and assist. Professor William Toff deserves particular recognition for his masterful MC duties all through the day, conserving our packed agenda flowing seamlessly whereas sustaining the nice and cozy, inclusive ambiance that defines our neighborhood.
We prolong our deepest gratitude to our distinguished company: Dr Dawn Adamson (NHS England Speciality Advisor on Cardiology), Dr Federico Semeraro (European Resuscitation Council Chair), and Dr Luke Evans MP (Shadow Minister of State for Health). Their presence underscored the rising recognition of our neighborhood’s significance inside the broader healthcare panorama.
Dr Semeraro’s contribution proved notably vital, providing beneficial insights from a European perspective. His reflection that SCA UK was simply one in all six comparable organisations throughout Europe—and doubtless the most important globally—validated our strategy and impression. His remark that he needed to “copy and paste” what we had achieved as a result of it was a successful method stands as a robust testomony to the distinctive mannequin we’ve developed over the previous decade.
Healthcare Professionals Monitor: Studying from Every Different
The afternoon Healthcare Professionals monitor, operating in parallel with survivor and co-survivor breakout classes, created beneficial alternatives for the cross-pollination of concepts and views. We prolong our honest because of Dr Vicky Joshi and Dr Marco Mion, together with their co-speakers, for organising and delivering classes that proved invaluable to medical attendees.
Healthcare professionals notably valued this “distinctive and ‘one in all its form’ occasion with a mixture of survivors, co-survivors and HCP, permitting HCP to see issues from the opposite perspective”. Many discovered talking with survivors to be “very transferring… and a well timed reminder of what the job is all about.” The possibility to achieve perception into the long-term impression of sudden cardiac arrest and focus on enhancements to post-arrest care pathways proved invaluable for his or her skilled improvement.
Seamless Organisation and Welcoming Ambiance
Coordinating an occasion that brings collectively tons of of individuals with numerous wants represents a major logistical problem, and we had been delighted by your constructive suggestions on our organisation and ambiance. The occasion earned descriptions corresponding to “Improbable”, “Extraordinarily effectively organised”, and even “Higher organised than most company occasions”.
Attendees praised our “precision planning,” the helpfulness of volunteers and trustees, and the clear communication earlier than and through the occasion. The Leonardo Hinckley Island Lodge and its amenities acquired constructive critiques, with many appreciating the ample parking and comfy lodging. The unofficial Friday night gathering allowed early arrivals to start connecting earlier than the principle occasion.
Small touches made vital variations—the colored lanyards figuring out totally different attendee sorts had been highlighted as a easy however efficient innovation that “makes dialog start-ups a lot simpler” and helps everybody really feel extra comfy and approachable.
The night introduced our neighborhood collectively another way, with attendees praising each the superb meal and the leisure that adopted. Trevor Cline’s mesmerising magic and Dr Rohin Francis’s hilarious talk supplied a wonderful and uplifting finish to what had been an emotionally wealthy day. The relaxed ambiance of the night celebration, full of laughter and marvel, gave individuals the right alternative for deeper conversations and connections to flourish. As one attendee mirrored: “The night leisure was incredible – precisely what we would have liked after such an emotional day”.
We additionally acquired beneficial constructive suggestions, together with options for clearer signage, extra numerous and more healthy meals choices, making session content material out there post-event, and permitting extra time for interactive discussions. This enter proves invaluable for bettering future occasions.
Views from Companions and Professionals
The “10 Years Together” occasion successfully united our neighborhood, together with healthcare professionals, exhibitors, and sponsors. Their suggestions highlights the distinctive worth of this built-in strategy.
Medical professionals highlighted the significance of connecting straight with the affected person neighborhood to achieve a contemporary perspective. One famous the “invaluable alternatives to fulfill professionals, survivors & co-survivors”, whereas one other shared how the occasion “helped me to achieve a unique perspective” on their work in cardiac arrest coaching. They valued each the academic content material and networking alternatives that solid helpful skilled contacts.
Exhibitors and sponsors discovered significant worth in assembly attendees and discussing their providers or merchandise. Their suggestions additionally praised the superb organisation and the chance to attach with individuals sharing frequent pursuits and objectives.
Past the Day: Lasting Impression and Giving Again
The “10 Years Collectively” occasion’s impression extends far past a single day. Attendees spoke of feeling “buoyant” and a part of one thing actually beneficial. For brand new survivors and co-survivors, attending represented a “big choice from a psychological perspective”, however one which left them “so glad that we made the hassle because it was such a worthwhile and intensely effectively organised occasion”.
The connections solid, data gained, and feeling of being genuinely understood contribute considerably to restoration journeys. Many long-term survivors talked about attending not only for private profit, but in addition “to assist others” and “to provide again to the charity.” This embodies the true spirit of our neighborhood. On this place, shared experiences foster mutual assist and willpower to make sure that others don’t face the isolation some skilled of their early days.
A Decade of Togetherness and the Path Ahead
The “10 Years Together” occasion serves as a robust testomony to the unimaginable neighborhood that has developed because the first assembly in 2015. Your suggestions confirms that these gatherings stay essential for serving to individuals navigate life after cardiac arrest. Being with others who “get it” supplies a novel and irreplaceable type of assist that can not be replicated elsewhere.
We sincerely recognize each attendee—survivors, co-survivors, rescuers, medical professionals, exhibitors, sponsors, and supporters—for making at the present time so particular. A particular thanks to our sponsors: Resuscitation Council UK, WEL Medical, Edwards, Terumo, Abbott, and NIPRO. We additionally need to acknowledge Karl Perry, Ellie Gudde and the unimaginable group of volunteers and audio system whose dedication made this occasion potential. Thanks all!
The success of “10 Years Together”, highlighted by your incredible suggestions, reinforces our dedication to our mission: offering peer assist, delivering beneficial data, and advocating for higher post-discharge care for everybody affected by sudden cardiac arrest.
For those who missed this occasion, don’t fear. Look ahead to bulletins about future SCA UK meetups and conferences.
Join our online community today—you are not alone.
Be a part of the Dialog
What was your spotlight of the “10 Years Collectively” occasion?
Share within the feedback beneath!
After our first meet-up in February 2015, I realised I used to be not alone. It was the primary time since my cardiac arrest the earlier 12 months that I had spoken face-to-face with somebody who had skilled what I had. This was additionally true for my spouse, who additionally occurred to be my lifesaver. From that meet-up, the thought of SCA UK was born. Since then, we now have achieved a substantial quantity, primarily offering data, assets and assist to others in an identical state of affairs but in addition elevating the profile of survivorship and the necessity for higher post-discharge care. We’re beginning to get traction on this, and with the formation of the charity, I genuinely imagine we now have a vibrant future forward and can make a major distinction within the lives of many who be part of our ranks.
