Following new official concussion guidelines published today for grassroots sports, Luke Griggs, Chief Executive of brain injury charity Headway, described the guidelines as an "important step" but warned they needed to be accompanied by a full public health campaign.
He said: “Taking a pan-sport approach to concussion is sensible. Having one set of guidelines should reduce the inconsistent way in which concussion is managed, particularly within youth and grassroots sport.
“However, despite the increased awareness of brain injury in elite-level sport, there remains a great deal of work to be done to improve understanding at all levels of community sport.
"This cannot start and stop with a document put on a government website or emailed to clubs. Guidelines are often only effective if accompanied by educational campaigns that achieve buy-in from all stakeholders.
“We would like to see the government launch a public health campaign to ensure these guidelines are not just seen, but the reasons behind them are fully understood and accepted by all.”
"This has to be a hearts and minds campaign to get people to understand the very important reasons for these guidelines."
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