The Daily Mail reports that the head of the Professional Footballers’ Association of Scotland has called for a comprehensive review of medical provision at all professional football matches. The call comes after an incident in the Scottish Women’s Premier League match between Partick Thistle and Rangers. Just 10 minutes into the game, player Courtney Stewart collided with Laura Rafferty, resulting in a suspected serious head injury. Stewart had to wait three hours before an ambulance arrived.
Although Rangers’ medical team and volunteers from St Andrews First Responders provided immediate care, the ambulance was delayed. The Scottish Ambulance Service has apologized for the delay, blaming “service pressure” and “hospital turnaround times.”
Fraser Wishart, the chief executive of the PFA Scotland, said in an interview that this is a widespread issue across the footballing world, with no current requirements for ambulances to be present at either men’s or women’s football matches. He said, “This is an issue that needs addressing and for professional footballers who are injured while working, there should be an ambulance on site.”
“I think the SPFL and SWPL need to consider the provision of necessary medical services for players. There’s also an equality issue here, that the male and female players should be treated equally.”
Currently, there are no regulations in the SPFL or SWPL that explicitly require an ambulance to be present at matches. While many clubs choose to pay for private ambulance services and medical professionals, some clubs find the cost prohibitive.
The Scottish Ambulance Service has apologized for the delay and expressed regret for any inconvenience caused to the patient. A spokesperson for the service said in a statement, “Unfortunately, at the time of the call, we were experiencing significant pressure on our service due to high demand and hospital turnaround times. Our clinical advisors remained in contact with the patient and we wish her a full recovery.”
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