A young footballer in the Highlands was left lying in agony after waiting more than an hour and a half for an ambulance to arrive after breaking two bones in his leg. Dean Fraser's tibia and fibula were both snapped in an accident during the game between his team Bonar Bridge FC and Fort William FC at Migdail Playing Field - in just his second match for the side.
It is understood the ambulance crew that attended is based in Lairg, and was called to an incident in Dornoch 13 miles away. However it is thought the crew was then held up on another call before getting to Dean, with no other paramedics available to attend instead.
Despite a 999 call being made immediately, and the North Caledonian Football Association match being abandoned, the 25-year-old was still lying on the sodden pitch in excruciating pain more than 90 minutes later.
Discussing the horror incident, the self-employed joiner from Lairg told the Record: "I had a severe broken leg, and was lying on soaking wet grass. The accident happened about 2.10pm, it was not long after the start of the second half.
"A call was made straight away for an ambulance and I never got one for over an hour and 30 minutes. I was in severe pain and freezing cold.
"The lack of an ambulance meant I had to wait. When the paramedics arrived they were nice, I couldn’t fault them and they were perfect in everything they did. I was told they were tied up in a job in Dornoch and couldn’t come.
"I got treatment on the pitch and it was about 4.40pm when I left for Raigmore. There needs to be more ambulances available here, in a rural area."
But Dean's ordeal was set to get worse when he arrived at Raigmore hospital in Inverness 45 minutes later, only to be told there were no available beds.
He added: "I got to Raigmore hospital, but I was in the back of ambulance for a further two hours waiting for a bed.
"It was horrible. I broke my shin bone my calf bone was also completely snapped. It made my mood even worse at such a traumatic time."
Dean was operated on the following day and had a titanium rod inserted from his ankle to his knee. His tibia and fibula bones are screwed to the metal rod and he also needs treatment to rebuild his calf muscle.
Michael Baird - a councillor for North, West and Central Sutherland - branded the wait to take Dean to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness as ridiculous. The Lib Dem councillor was a spectator at the game and called 999 when the accident happened. He has since written to the Holyrood Health minister Maree Todd, saying the "centralisation" of the ambulance service has meant a poorer response time - particularly in rural areas like the Highlands.
He said: “The paramedic who turned up, I know personally. He comes from Lairg. I understand that his ambulance is ready for any stand-by situation in the area. When he eventually pitched up, I think he said they had just come from Dornoch. It’s only 13 miles away from Bonar Bridge. On a blue light situation that would take only 20 minutes.
“I think they’ve been on another call and been diverted from Dornoch to the football pitch. But why it took 90 minutes I’m not sure. There are other ambulances in Golspie, Tain, Alness and the one that came from Lairg. But I think [the crew that attended] may have had a job that didn’t require them to go on to Inverness.”
He added: “I have sent a strongly-worded email to Health Minister Maree Todd. When I made calls on Saturday I had two calls back from an ambulance depot in Glasgow. Why would someone from Glasgow be speaking to me, who likely doesn’t know the geography of this area? Several 999 calls were made for an ambulance. Each time we had to go through lengthy questions and answers.”
He told the Holyrood minister that a Glasgow phone number he was contacted on could not receive incoming calls, so no update on the timescales involved was possible – while Mr Fraser lay in agony.
“One and a half hours is not acceptable in such a case when the ambulance unit came from Dornoch,” added Councillor Baird. "Call centres and centralisation of the emergency services does not seem to work, as in the past when calls went to local venues.”
The incident happened as ambulance staff prepare to go on strike later this month amid claims they are being overworked due to a lack of resources.
A spokesperson for the Scottish Ambulance Service said there has been no reduction in service to the local area, with increased staffing in Alness, Tain, Golspie and Dingwall. The SAS is also attempting to recruit further staff in Lairg.
They added: “We are sorry for the delay in responding to the patient. Hospital turnaround times continue to be a significant challenge and are restricting our ability to get our crews back on the road. We triage calls to ensure we prioritise the most seriously ill patients. Unfortunately, two ambulances were diverted to higher priority calls after being allocated to attend the patient. We hope the patient is recovering well.”
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “Patient safety remains our priority and we apologise to anyone who has experienced a long wait. Despite a rise in demand for higher acuity calls, the ambulance service responded to over 68% of their highest priority calls in under ten minutes and over 99 per cent in under 30 minutes in 2021/22.”
An NHS Highland spokeswoman said at weekends there is one GP working covering East Sutherland, which includes Lairg, and two community nurses covering the same area from 9am-5pm for planned work - however they do not manage emergency situations.
Discussing ambulance waits at hospitals, she added: "We work with our community colleagues to improve patient flow within our system and work with our Scottish Ambulance Service colleagues to try and help mitigate waiting times through joint escalation plans."
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