By Dan Bloom
The Kentish Express
EAST SUSSEX, England — A young footballer had to wait an hour and 40 minutes for an ambulance after he suffered a serious injury in his first league match.
Wittersham FC player Sonny Pringle, 16, badly dislocated his knee playing against Woodchurch on Saturday.
The game on Wittersham recreation ground was abandoned in the 11th minute with the home side leading 1-0 and club secretary Miriam Lewis called 999.
But the ambulance didn’t come and Sonny’s parents Mary and Stephen called again and again. Mr Pringle claims he was cut off during one call after an operator told him he was being abusive.
An ambulance from Maidstone — nearly 25 miles from the ground — eventually arrived at 4.35pm, gave Sonny gas and air and took him to the Conquest Hospital, St Leonard’s.
Ambulances are based in Rye, just six miles away, and Ashford, 18 miles away. The ambulance service has launched an investigation into the incident.
Sonny, who returned to school in East Sussex on Wednesday, said: “My body was going into shock. Nothing could take my mind off the pain, because all I needed to do was look at my knee cap twisted round the back of my leg. I thought it was broken.
“Once I got to hospital the doctor popped it back after two hours. But when I went back on Monday he told me I’d have to take around two months off football instead of two or three weeks, because it had been made worse by lying still for so long.
“It’s affected me mentally because I love rugby and cross- country too and I’m thinking, am I ever going to want to put in a whole-hearted challenge?”
Emergency operators told Mr and Mrs Pringle not to try and move their son or to give him water.
Meanwhile other players fetched blankets to keep Sonny warm on the damp grass.
Mrs Pringle, of Peasmarsh, East Sussex, said: “I’m so upset. I had a child writhing in pain and there just wasn’t anybody listening.
“I can’t fault the individual people but the system was appalling. We were treated like animals.”
Wittersham FC chairman Darren Last said: “The operator accused Sonny’s dad of being aggressive, which is rubbish. He was very concerned and it was getting cold and damp, so understandably he was frustrated.
“I must say that when the paramedics did finally turn up, they were very, very good. It’s just a shame the service is as bad as it is.”
The South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAmb) issued a statement apologising for the incident.
It read: “SECAmb takes any concerns raised over the service it provides very seriously.
“We always aim to provide a quick response to all emergency calls. However, due to the demands placed upon our service we sometimes take longer than we would like to reach a patient.
“We also have a duty to prioritise life-threatening calls.
“We are committed to carrying out a full investigation into the response to this call and would urge the patient and his parents to contact us directly to discuss their concerns.
“We are sorry for the distress this delay would have caused the patient and wish him all the best with his recovery.”
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