A Vernon Vipers hockey player lied flat on the ice for nearly an hour Saturday, waiting for an ambulance to arrive after suffering an apparent head injury.
The incident took place in a BC Hockey League game between the Vipers and the Prince George Spruce Kings, at Prince Georgesa国际传媒檚 Kopar Memorial Arena, on Oct. 1, with less than three minutes to play in the game.
Spruce Kings general manager Mike Hawes said that the injured player, Will Blackburn, was battling for a puck in the corner when he fell awkwardly into the boards. The play proceeded towards the other end of the rink, but Blackburn didnsa国际传媒檛 get up off the ice.
sa国际传媒淗e was in some medical distress,sa国际传媒� Hawes told The Morning Star. sa国际传媒淰ernonsa国际传媒檚 trainer and my trainer went on the ice, as did the first aid personnel from the arena, and I guess the concern initially was a head injury.sa国际传媒�
Blackburn was attended to, while officials called 911. Meanwhile, both teams agreed to call off the rest of the game.
Hawes said the injury occurred around 9:20 p.m., and an ambulance didnsa国际传媒檛 arrive until about 50 minutes later.
sa国际传媒淭he process was certainly frustrating at that point,sa国际传媒� he said. sa国际传媒淥ur volunteer coordinator called and was on hold for a period of time and then we called several other times during the waiting portion.sa国际传媒�
Eventually, the Spruce Kingssa国际传媒� longtime announcer Ron Gallo took matters into his own hands, driving to the hospital emergency bay to ask for help. Gallo was able to track down a pair of paramedics and ask them if theysa国际传媒檇 had a call from the arena.
sa国际传媒淥ne of the paramedics checked her phone and said something along the lines that it was in the queue but that they could come right now, so essentially that was a big reason, a big part of how we were able to finally get an ambulance to attend the arena,sa国际传媒� Hawes said.
When the ambulance did arrive, Blackburn was transferred to hospital where he underwent tests including a CT scan. The results of the CT scan came back negative and Blackburn was able to get on the team bus back to Vernon.
sa国际传媒淲e are extremely grateful to our athletic therapist Yasmine Jutt and the medical professionals for taking such great care of Will,sa国际传媒� Vipers head coach and GM Jason McKee said in a statement. sa国际传媒淲esa国际传媒檇 also like to thank the Spruce Kings organization for their help in a very tough situation.sa国际传媒�
Hawes says the paramedics and dispatchers werensa国际传媒檛 to blame for the lengthy delay. Rather, itsa国际传媒檚 a systemic emergency response issue that the province needs to contend with.
sa国际传媒淚 know (the paramedics and dispatchers) are extremely shorthanded and short staffed and this is an issue that certainly the provincial government needs to get a handle on,sa国际传媒� he said. sa国际传媒淭hank goodness that the injury wasnsa国际传媒檛 more serious than it turned out to be.
sa国际传媒淚njuries happen in hockey and in athletics anywhere, and it would be nice to know that when you need first responders for an incident that theysa国际传媒檙e there and able to respond and that they donsa国际传媒檛 have that delayed response like we did that night.sa国际传媒�
In an email, BC Emergency Health Services (BCEHS) said they received a call to respond to the arena at 9:24 p.m. The call was triaged as a sa国际传媒測ellowsa国际传媒� call, meaning lights and sirens werensa国际传媒檛 necessary. At 10 p.m., based on new information about Blackburnsa国际传媒檚 condition from the scene, the call was upgraded to sa国际传媒渙range,sa国际传媒� indicating a more urgent lights-and-sirens response.
The ambulance arrived at 10:07 p.m.
sa国际传媒淲e know itsa国际传媒檚 stressful when someone who needs an ambulance is waiting for one,sa国际传媒� the BCEHS said.
sa国际传媒淥ur dispatch also has a process to upgrade a call to a higher priority response if a patientsa国际传媒檚 condition worsens. If the family is seeking information about their care, we encourage them to reach out to our Patient Care Quality Office.sa国际传媒�
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