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Footballer's 36 minutes of agony
23/ 3/2005
A FOOTBALLER who suffered a terrible injury during a match was left in agony for more than half an hour before an ambulance arrived.
Striker Marcus Hallows suffered a horrendous fracture - which left the shattered end of the bone poking through the skin on his right shin - during a home match for Altrincham FC.
The 29-year-old, from Harwood,
Bolton, was left writhing on the ground as worried club officials dialled 999 for an ambulance.
They realised the blood supply to Marcus's foot was blocked and feared any delay in treatment could have led to serious damage, possibly even making amputation necessary.
The player had only been on the pitch a couple of minutes after coming on as a second-half substitute in the non-league match against Ashton United on Saturday when he was tackled.
Club physio Sean Riley said: "It was the worst injury I've seen in the eight years I've been a physio.
"The blood supply to his foot had been compromised and the top of his foot was turning blue. We had to put his foot in traction and we had to hold it in place and stabilise it. The delay in the ambulance arriving certainly didn't help the situation."
The original call was made at 4.31pm but when an ambulance did not appear the club doctor, who was helping to save Marcus's leg, made a second call at 4.48pm.
The ambulance finally arrived at 5.07pm - 36 minutes after the first call.
An ambulance spokesman said the call was not treated as a priority because the information they were given did not reveal how serious the situation was.
Greater Manchester Ambulance Service prioritises emergency calls in three categories.
Situations deemed life threatening are rated category A or B and given priority.
Calls deemed non-emergency are rated category C and answered within an hour.
A spokesman for GMAS said it was happy with the system.
X-rays later revealed that both the tibia and fibula bones in Marcus's right leg fractured.
The former Bolton Wanderers reserve team player has undergone two operations at Wythenshawe Hospital and his leg has been pinned together. He will now require plastic surgery.
Marcus said: "I was aware the ambulance took a long time but I'm fortunate as I was in good hands. It could have been a lot worse."
Marcus said his parents dashed from Bolton to Wythenshawe Hospital as soon as they heard what had happened and arrived before an ambulance had even reached their son at the Moss Lane ground in Altrincham.
A spokesman for Greater Manchester Ambulance Service said it responded immediately to the call but that the crew was diverted to another situation that was deemed more of an emergency.
The spokesman for GMAS said: "With the information provided the incident was allocated a code green response - non-serious and non-life threatening. This allows us one hour to attend the scene. An ambulance crew was dispatched immediately, however they were stood down shortly after to attend a red response incident - a life-threatening incident, a patient with chest pains.
"A further call was received but the code for the incident remained the same - green. An ambulance crew arrived on scene 36 minutes after the original call. We responded to the information provided appropriately and according to protocol." Marcus will have to wait to see if he will ever play again.
SINCE October last year ambulance trusts across the country are no longer responsible for the lowest priority 999 requests - known as category C calls. The government wants these less urgent cases to be taken on by the local NHS with nurses and GPs helping those with minor ailments or injuries instead.
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