A mum from Preston has been left disappointed as her son cannot attend a holiday football club because of not having enough staff with the appropriate first aid training.

The mum, who asked not to be named, wanted to send her child to First Kick Football but was left frustrated when she found out her son could not attend.

Her son carries an EpiPen and thinks more people should be trained to be able to administer them.

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She said: “The main upset in all of this is how my child is being left out attending with his friends to a holiday club because they cannot administer EpiPens.

“EpiPen training needs to be mandatory in all children’s clubs, severe allergies are on the rise in our younger generation.

“My son cannot attend the holiday club because he carries [an] EpiPen and something needs to change around this.”

An EpiPen is a hypodermic device that administers a dose of epinephrine, used for the emergency treatment of an acute allergic reaction.

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A spokesperson from First Kick Football told Blog Preston: “This summer we are running Holiday Clubs and Football Courses in local schools, throughout the six week holidays for 1000’s of children, across Preston and South Ribble.

“Whilst some of our staff do have the training required to administer EpiPen medication, the current pandemic makes it impossible for us to guarantee that these members of staff, will be at the same site, all the time. Whilst all our staff are first aid trained, many first aid courses such as those delivered by the Lancashire Football Association, do not include specific EpiPen training.

“Our aim is always to be as inclusive as possible. However, we have a duty of care and must always ask ourselves: ‘Can we meet the needs of this child at all times?’ Whilst we would love to be able offer a service that meets the needs of all children with any medical conditions, this isn’t always possible.

“We empathise with parents that feel aggrieved by our policies but can only reiterate, that the safety of the children attending our clubs will always be our priority.”

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