West Ham United have introduced a new Club-wide concussion screening protocol to help safeguard players of all ages from potentially serious head injuries.
A concussion is a disturbance in brain function caused by a blow to the head that can result in a wide variety of symptoms and signs, including headache, unsteadiness, confusion and, in the most severe cases, a short-term change in personality.
Following a number of high-profile incidents last season - including Guy Demel suffering a major head injury and concussion at Cardiff City in January - a decision was taken by the Premier League to formulate new regulations to protect players based on expert guidelines developed at the Fourth International Conference on Concussion in Sport held in Zurich in November 2013.
The new Premier League rules make clear that, when a serious head injury is suffered on the pitch, that the decision of the team doctor must be final.
Each Club also now provides a 'Tunnel Doctor' at home matches to offer an expert assessment if requested by a team doctor to help support the medical staff treating players on the pitch and to support injured players leaving the field of play, by monitoring and treating them as well as arranging safe onward transfer to the appropriate medical facility when required.
West Ham have taken the guidelines a step further in protecting all the Club's players, with Dr Weiler and head of medical and sports science Stijn Vandenbroucke overseeing the introduction of baseline concussion screening for Hammers players at every age level level.
"We are doing baseline concussion screening - called a SCAT3 (Sport Concussion Assessment Tool) test - for West Ham players at all ages from 13 upwards," Dr Weiler explained. "A Child SCAT3 test is used for children aged 12 and under.
"As a Club, we are committed to taking concussion very seriously and this process also helps to educate everyone across the Club of its importance.
"At first-team level, Guy Demel was concussed during a match last season, while young Dan Potts suffered a concussion at Arsenal the previous season [and Matt Taylor away at Stoke], so the players are unfortunately acutely aware of the serious nature of concussion, the unpleasant effects and how horrible it can be.
"The new Premier League rules and our own Club screening will give us the best possible chance to spot when a player has suffered a concussion, remove them from the pitch and provide the relevant treatment to enable them to make a full recovery. Hopefully our commitment across the club will help raise awareness across the community of the serious nature of concussion so that football players at all levels, and not just Premier League footballers, are better equipped to manage concussion safely."
To read more about the Premier League's new medical rules for head injuries,click here.