Selsey chairman concerned over broken-leg ambulance delay

The Blues led 3-2 at the time but the scoreline in the SCFL division-one match was forgotten as Greg Clark suffered the horrific injury in a collision with the hosts’ goalkeeper.

There followed a two-hour wait for an ambulance as the stricken player was looked after by physios and other qualified first-aiders at the ground.

Selsey have been praised for their handling of the incicent but club chairman David Lee said: “I am not sure we did anything more than what one would expect in these situations.

“The player unfortunately broke his leg in a collision with our goalkeeper Jordan Smith. The Storrington physio tended the player and an ambulance was called.

“Our secretary, Paul Senior, spoke to the ambulance service and kept in touch with them and the Storrington people whilst we waited for the Ambulance to arrive.

“We have people at the club, Allen Cooper, Dan Andrews and David White, to name a few, who know what to do in these situations and along with Paul Senior, they will have helped to ensure the player was kept comfortable.

“We would have been supportive of the Storrington people and players while we remained totally focussed on the player’s welfare. It is imperative that a player is kept as calm as possible and not moved in these situations despite that player, and others around, who will quite understandably, want to get him moved and to Hospital as quickly as possible.

“Unfortunately it stretched everybody’s patience as it took nearly two hours for an ambulance to arrive at the ground. This was the first bit of professional medical assistance the player received after the incident.

“This caused me concern, as the player, while being kept warm and comforted, should not have been allowed to lie around for this amount of time without some attention. I am very surprised the ambulance service was not able to attend sooner or have some sort of contingency plan in place.

“I appreciate there were most probably far more serious incidents to deal with, but, something should have been in place to cover these eventualities.”

The ambulance service said the delay came during a very busy period for crews and apologised for the wait the player had to endure.

The match will be replayed on a date to be confirmed.

Selsey visit St Francis Rangers on Saturday.

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