A footballer who suffered an agonising double-leg break in a League Cup game lay on the pitch for five hours waiting for an ambulance.
Brooke Paterson, 19 of Linlithgow Rose Ladies FC, was badly injured during a tackle in the game against Cumbernauld United at the weekend.
Paul Hopwood, her head coach, mentioned that there were seven 999 calls made to the emergency services, but it was after nightfall before an ambulance finally arrived.
He admitted the incident, had been extremely traumatic and several players, parents and staff were left horrified by the length of the delay.
Mr. Hopwood stated: ‘Brooke and another player engaged in a 50-50 challenge that we have no concerns about. Unfortunately, our player suffered more, but it could have easily been the reverse situation.
‘We knew we couldn’t move her, as she was in absolute agony. You could tell by looking at her leg that it was broken.’
Brooke, whose mum was by her side, endured five hours on the damp pitch with a pile of coats and foil blankets in a bid to keep her warm.
Her coach explained: ‘She was lying in such an awkward position since she couldn’t move, so for five hours, we communicated with her. She would be fine one moment and then cry out in pain, prompting her mother to call the ambulance again at those times.’
‘I believe seven people called 999 attempting to expedite the situation. We did everything possible to have someone come and assist this young woman. Her mother likely called three times due to her severe pain.’
Brooke Paterson, of Linlithgow Rose Ladies FC, was left suffering for hours on the pitch
The 19 year old centre-back was playing for Linlithgow Rose Ladies FC when she was injured
‘The Cumbernauld first-aider accompanied me onto the field, noticing immediately there was a problem. Brooke was clearly in significant pain, so we quickly worked to calm her and evaluate her condition.
Eventually a doctor of another Cumbernauld team turned up having been alerted by the chairman of the home side who hadn’t even been at the game.
Mr. Hopwood said: ‘He stayed with her to assess and told her, “I understand your discomfort, but they were right to leave you in place. It’s a major leg injury, and moving you could have been hazardous.” His help was invaluable.
It took until around 8pm for the ambulance to arrive, despite the game kicking off at 2pm
‘He got on the phone to the ambulance service, and then things started to happen.’
By this time Brooke had been on the pitch from 2pm to 8pm and it was getting dark.
The Scottish Ambulance Service have apologised for the delay in getting to Brooke.
It took until around 8pm for the ambulance to arrive, despite the game kicking off at 2pm
The coach said a complaint would now be raised with the Scottish Ambulance Service adding serious questions had to be asked about the service’s priorities.
Scottish Women’s Football said of Sunday’s incident that they ‘shared the club’s concern over such a long wait and have offered the player support in her recovery’.
It is understood Ms Paterson has undergone an operation to repair a broken fibula and tibia and is now recovering in hospital.
A Scottish Ambulance Service spokesman said: ‘We would like to sincerely apologise to Ms Paterson for the delay in the ambulance response and for any distress caused.
‘We can confirm that we received a number of calls on 21 September to attend this incident but due to high demand and hospital turnaround times which ranged between 90 minutes to 3 hours in the area, this significantly delayed our response and we unfortunately could not attend immediately.
‘When a time is appropriate, we would ask Ms Paterson or her family to contact our Patient Experience Team directly so we can look into this case further and personally discuss our response. We hope Ms Paterson is recovering well.’
Last year a Partick Thistle player was left waiting on the pitch for several hours, after suffering what appeared to be a serious head injury, in a match against Rangers.
