A Highland councillor has claimed the Army would have been quicker in helping an injured footballer who was left waiting 90 minutes for an ambulance.
Bonar Bridge player Dean Fraser was playing against Fort William at home at Migdale Playing Field on Saturday when he broke his leg.
The 26-year-old was brought on as a substitute five minutes into the second half of the match, which was relocated from Fort William due to the pitch conditions.
But after he was hurt, numerous 999 calls were made to the blue light services by the team in an attempt to confirm if an ambulance had been dispatched.
However, paramedics failed to appear for more than an hour.
It is believed the ambulance crew who attended was based at Dornoch, 13 miles away.
With daylight fading and uncertainty surrounding when paramedics would appear, the match was abandoned after 50 minutes.
Mr Fraser was taken to Raigmore Hospital where he has since undergone an operation.
The incident happened as ambulance staff prepare to go on strike later this month amid claims they are being stretched to the limit due to a lack of resources.
‘Centralisation does not work’
North, West and Central Sutherland councillor Michael Baird has now criticised the government over the centralisation of health resources, saying Highland residents will continue to suffer as a result.
He has written to Public Health Minister Maree Todd to say forcing people to wait 90 minutes for medical assistance is unacceptable.
He said: “One and a half hours is not acceptable in such a case when the ambulance unit came from Dornoch, 20 minutes away by blue light.
“Call centres and centralisation of fire, police, and ambulance services does not seem to work.”
He added: “Centralisation does not work in Highlands.
“We have seen this time and time again. If you want to get something quick here from the police or the ambulance and we have to wait an arm and a leg to get it.”
He added: “I am sure the Army would have made a quicker visit to our incident than what happened on Saturday.”
The football incident arose just days after ambulance workers in Scotland voted to strike for the first time.
Paramedics are due to walk out on November 28 amid accusations staff are being “overlooked, overworked, undervalued and underpaid”.
GMB Scotland organiser Karen Leonard said: ““The workforce is being expected to fill more and more gaps in service provision.
“With the current (pay) offer being well below inflation, that means they’re being expected to do more for less.”
‘They got there as quick as they could’
But Fraser Heath, manager of Bonar Bridge FC defended the ambulance service staff for their efforts, describing them as “understaffed and overrun”.
Working for the emergency services himself, he is only too aware of the pressures staff are facing.
He said: “It is obviously difficult to get ambulances up that kind of area so I don’t like to put fault on the ambulance service.
“Sadly, Bonar Bridge is quite a difficult place to get to. They got there as quick as they could.
“I was in the same situation last year when I broke my wrist. I was about an hour and a half as well. It is just the way it is.
“I work in the emergency services so I completely sympathise with the ambulance service. They are understaffed and overrun.”
Mr Heath says despite his injury, his player remains in good spirits.
“It is a horrible injury to get but he is in decent spirits and he is a good guy, Dean,” he added.
In a post published on their social media page on Sunday, Fort William FC wished Mr Fraser a speedy recovery.
They wrote: “We hope your operation goes well today Dean and we hope to see you back on the park in the future.
“Great work by all involved at Bonar Bridge to keep him still and as comfortable as he could be in the circumstances.”
Hospital turnarounds causing ambulance delays
An ambulance service spokesman said hospital waiting times continue to pose a problem for paramedics.
He said: “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 spokesman added: “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% in under 30 minutes in 2021/22.”
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