By ALESHA CAPONE
A BRIMBANK soccer player with a broken leg waited up to 50 minutes for an ambulance in Cairnlea on Saturday 29 June.
Cairnlea Football Club secretary Yagiz Adal said he felt so “frustrated” by the incident that he sent an e-mail to radio station 3AW.
Last week Star also spoke to Mr Adal, who said the injured 31-year-old player “was in severe pain” and his team-mates did not move him because they were worried about causing further injuries.
“We didn’t know what else was wrong with him – we didn’t know if he had hurt his back or neck,” Mr Adal said.
But Mr Adal said it took between 45 and 50 minutes for the ambulance to arrive and transport the hurt player to nearby Sunshine Hospital.
“We made multiple calls to the ambulance service – I would suggest at least five calls were made by various people,” Mr Adal said.
“We were getting quite concerned as he was starting to shake. We tried to keep him as warm as possible but he was lying on a muddy field, the light was going and it was misty.
“The ambulance crew were absolutely magnificent. I have no complaints with them.
“I am sick of the system and politicians blaming each other instead of actually doing something about it.”
Ambulance Victoria Group Manager Tony Elliott said paramedics were always sent to the sickest patients first.
He said an ambulance was dispatched as soon as the first call was received about the soccer player, but was diverted to a nearby life-threatening emergency.
“We dispatched another ambulance which transported the man to hospital in a stable condition,” he said.
