‘Recognise and remove’ concussion

At the launch of the campaign earlier this year are Ulster Rugby player Ruan Pienaar; Sports Minister Caral Ni Chuilin; Karen Robinson Walton, mother of Benjamin Robinson; Peter Robinson, father of Benjamin Robinson; Education Minister John O'Dowd; and Tyrone Gaelic player Joe McMahon. Picture: Michael Cooper

Benjamin Robinson, who was a student at Carrickfergus Grammar, died in 2011 following a schools rugby match.

The 14-year-old had been allowed to carry on playing despite suffering a concussion.

At the inquest into his death, the coroner noted it was the first recorded death due to second impact syndrome in Northern Ireland and probably in the rest of the UK.

Since Benjamin’s death, his family have been active in raising awareness of the dangers associated with concussion as part of the ‘Recognise and Remove’ campaign.

Speaking earlier this year, Ben’s father Peter Robinson said: “We said after the inquest something positive has to come out of Ben’s tragedy because Ben’s tragedy was preventable.”

It is this message that is at the centre of the latest strand of the campaign, which makes use of social media to spread the word.

Following the viral success of the ‘nominate’ charity challenges on sites like Facebook and Twitter, the campaign sees each participant record a video message under the theme ‘Concussion - Recognise and Remove’.

The participant then nominates an individual or a sports club to record and share a similar video, spreading the word on the campaign further.

In his own video, Peter said: “Just recently the International Rugby Board released a concussion awareness video.

“In this video, current sporting stars of the game sent out a very strong message re: concussion and the need to recognise and remove.

“Back in 2011, our son Benjamin died as a result of mismanaged concussion. Had Ben’s injuries been recognised, and had he been removed, he would be here today.”

Several sports clubs and individuals have already uploaded their challenge videos to Facebook, including Carrick Ladies Hockey Club and Carrick Ladies Rugby Club.

The Recognise and Remove campaign was originally launched in April 2014 with the help of Education and Sports Ministers, John O’Dowd and Caral Ni Chuilin.

Informative leaflets and posters were distributed to children, schools and sports clubs across Northern Ireland.

Teachers and coaches also received a pocket Concussion Recognition Tool to help them identify indicators of the head injury.

More information is available on the Facebook community page ‘Concussion Challenge RnR’.

‘Recognise and remove’ concussion - call