THE mother of a teenager who suffered a serious head injury at a local sporting event at the weekend had to drive her son to the SWAH herself as no ambulance was available when they called.
The incident took place in Lisnaskea on Saturday, when a 15-year-old boy fell and landed badly on his head during a match, while his mother was watching on from the crowd.
“He jumped to get the ball and whatever way he swung himself around, he lost balance and just went down on his head,” the boy’s father told the Herald.
“My wife saw it happening. The ball was at the other end of the field and everybody was looking at the ball.”
The boy’s mother ran on to the pitch and called 999, and the referee quickly called a halt to proceedings. Luckily, one of the other parents in the crowd was an off duty nurse who also came over to aid the boy, who had lost consciousness and was incoherent when he finally came around.
There was also an off duty paramedic at the match, who provided first aid, and spoke with the paramedics on the 999 call.
The father said the paramedics on the phone informed them they did not have an ambulance available to dispatch at that time, so his wife decided to take their son in the car to the SWAH.
Having met them from his work en route, the local man – who said his family were very grateful to the two medical professionals at the scene – was full of praise for the staff at the SWAH emergency department.
“When we got in there, we got first class treatment. We were waiting ten minutes, no more than 15 minutes. They knew in there it was serious,” he said.
The father said the doctors were regularly checking on the boy, and he said he “can’t emphasise enough” about how great the staff were.
“It’s not their fault, I know the way the system works,” he said, of the health system at the moment. “The problem is up the chain, it’s not on the floor.”
After receiving scans at the SWAH, it was decided to transfer the boy to Altnagelvin, where he was still receiving treatment when the Herald was speaking with his father. However, having passed the crucial first 48 hours, it is expected he will make a full recovery.
When contacted by the Herald about the incident a spokesman for the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) said a 999 call was received at 3pm and, based on the information conveyed, the call was prioritised as a Category 2 response (18 minutes).
It said it dispatched a Rapid Response Paramedic, however this was cancelled at 3.19pm as the patient was being taken to hospital by other means.
“In terms of ambulance cover in Enniskillen, NIAS is funded for three ambulance crews, operating 24 hours per day,” said the spokesman, when asked about local cover.
“This level of cover was available throughout the day on Saturday. There may be times when all crews are engaged on emergency calls, leading to delayed response for other calls. However, where possible, Enniskillen cover is complemented by crews from neighbouring stations, for example Omagh.”
When asked if the suspension of emergency general surgery at the SWAH had impacted its local cover, they said NIAS had been fully engaging with its partners, including the Western Trust “in relation to the potential impact on NIAS service delivery.”
“To that end, NIAS seeks to provide up to two additional crews, on an overtime basis, to mitigate the challenges faced,” they said.
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