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 George鈥檚 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 didn鈥檛 get up off the ice.
鈥淗e was in some medical distress,鈥� Hawes told The Morning Star. 鈥淰ernon鈥檚 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.鈥�
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 didn鈥檛 arrive until about 50 minutes later.
鈥淭he process was certainly frustrating at that point,鈥� he said. 鈥淥ur volunteer coordinator called and was on hold for a period of time and then we called several other times during the waiting portion.鈥�
Eventually, the Spruce Kings鈥� 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 they鈥檇 had a call from the arena.
鈥淥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,鈥� 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.
鈥淲e are extremely grateful to our athletic therapist Yasmine Jutt and the medical professionals for taking such great care of Will,鈥� Vipers head coach and GM Jason McKee said in a statement. 鈥淲e鈥檇 also like to thank the Spruce Kings organization for their help in a very tough situation.鈥�
Hawes says the paramedics and dispatchers weren鈥檛 to blame for the lengthy delay. Rather, it鈥檚 a systemic emergency response issue that the province needs to contend with.
鈥淚 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,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hank goodness that the injury wasn鈥檛 more serious than it turned out to be.
鈥淚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 they鈥檙e there and able to respond and that they don鈥檛 have that delayed response like we did that night.鈥�
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 鈥測ellow鈥� call, meaning lights and sirens weren鈥檛 necessary. At 10 p.m., based on new information about Blackburn鈥檚 condition from the scene, the call was upgraded to 鈥渙range,鈥� indicating a more urgent lights-and-sirens response.
The ambulance arrived at 10:07 p.m.
鈥淲e know it鈥檚 stressful when someone who needs an ambulance is waiting for one,鈥� the BCEHS said.
鈥淥ur dispatch also has a process to upgrade a call to a higher priority response if a patient鈥檚 condition worsens. If the family is seeking information about their care, we encourage them to reach out to our Patient Care Quality Office.鈥�
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