Rugby Player Breaks His Leg But Has To Wait 3 Hours, Still On The Pitch, For An Ambulance

[mikey4444]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-west-wales-30693304

My point of posting this is not to question the 3 hour wait for an Ambulance, but to ask why this poor chap was left lying on the pitch, with only a few blankets over him, getting colder and colder.

Is there any first aiders amongst us that can say why he wasn't stretchered into a place of safety, under cover, to wait the 3 hours, instead of being left in the open air ?

[jno]

maybe there wasn't one? The story doesn't say. Not every sports field in the country has stretchers or even dressing rooms to hand.

[mallyh]

they were told not to move him when they rang up .seems a bit extreme making him lay there for 3 hours though .

[sandyRoe]

There was a repeat of a Midsomer Murders episode on TV last night where the fact that it took a ambulance 90 minutes to arrive was seen as an indicator of foul play.
They'd need to rewrite that script if they were making it now.
I'd guess that people feared moving him because that might have made his injury worse.

[ToraToraTora]

I played rugby for 30years and in this situation we were usually told not to move them unless medical expertise was about. Now often the St Johns man would take desicion but I can remember once that ev was worried about a bone puncturing an artey so we move the game to another pitch. The ambulance arrived quicker though. On other occasions we have had them stretchered off.

[mikey4444]

I suppose not moving him was the correct thing to do, for the reasons you gave TTT. But I don't expect everybody realised that the Ambulance was going to take such a long time, especially for such a potentially serious accident.

By the way, I can see the pitch where this happened from my bedroom window. The Ambulance Depot and the A+E Dept. are both about 5-10 mins drive away from the pitch as well.

[bazwillrun]

you obviously didnt look closely at the provided picture...he was under cover

[ToraToraTora]

I thought the welsh played on with (only) a broken leg!

[mikey4444]

TTT....go and sit on the naughty step please !

Baz...he was lying on the grass, on the pitch, covered in blankets....quite visible from the photo and explained in the text. Not sure quite how that is the same as "being under cover" ?

[ToraToraTora]

OK boyo, I was bought up on the Welsh greats like JPR who sewed up his own face and went back on after being raked by the ABs

[Gromit]

Not sure who stands out as the most stupid here.

a) The 999 operator for telling them not to move someone when they knew there were several hours before an ambulance could attend.

or

b) The people who didn't move him when he started to go blue.

Ypu would have thought there would be a trained first aider in attendance who would have the common sense to sretcher him to a warm place.

[ToraToraTora]

reading between the lines this looks like our old friends the Elf n safetee mafia. We don't care if the guy freezes to death as long as we don't get sued for damage that may be caused by moving him.

[bazwillrun]

"Not sure quite how that is the same as "being under cover" ? "

here we go pedants corner.....

he was under covers of some description, I assume that was to keep him warm, I also assume that as they had the brains enough to do that, had it of been raining they would have "erected" something over him or perhaps used brollys to have stopped him from getting wet.

This "poor" chap was hardly just left lying on the pitch was he !?

[mikey4444]

Baz...I give up ! ...you win !

[solvitquick]

I remember a very vaguely similar incident in the AFC Premier League. A Liverpool FC player, G. Cisse I think, broke his leg in one or more critical parts. Fortunately most Premier League teams carry their own medical squad with them as well as physio's.
The ambulance was too slow so the Liverpool FC medics acted alone to deal with the injury. In doing so, they saved his leg from gangrene and his career.
Time for all major sporting venues to have a full medical team available and not be so reliant on ambulance paramedics? With a stetcher, medically supervised first-aider(savailable, they could work fast without leaving him on the pitch for so long
SIQ.

[solvitquick]

Oops, my post too long and crossed with divebuddy. We seem to be on the same wavelength. The venue should expect such crises and be medically equipped in advance! Sure don't move him in this case - but 3hrs - amazing.
SIQ.