Soccer player with broken leg endures 70km car trip between hospitals

Soccer player's 70km car dash with broken leg sparks call for change to ambulance policies In short: A soccer player with a broken leg was taken to a regional hospital that was not equipped for the orthopaedic surgery he required. His family is now pushing for a review into ambulance transfer policies. A spokesperson for SA Ambulance says the the decision to take Mr Jones to the hospital at Victor Harbor was made to ensure he would receive the "quickest medical care and quick access to appropriate pain relief options." The family of a soccer player injured in a game believe the decision to take him by ambulance to the closest regional hospital led to unnecessary pain and delayed surgery. After waiting hours at Victor Harbor's South Coast District Hospital for an ambulance transfer, Harry Jones made the 70-kilometre dash to a metropolitan hospital in the back seat of a car. Mr Jones, the captain of the senior men's team at the Southern Breakers Football Club, was injured during the last game of the season. He caught his right boot in the goal net while trying to stop an opposition strike and landed awkwardly, breaking both bones in his lower left leg. He later had surgery to insert a titanium rod into one of the broken bones. Painful wait for surgery Club trainer Peta Haldane, an experienced registered nurse and a nurse practitioner in training, administered first aid to Mr Jones while they waited for an ambulance. She said it was obvious he had a complete fracture to both bones in his lower leg and should have been taken straight to Flinders Medical Centre (FMC) since the closest hospital, Victor Harbor's Southern Fleurieu Health Service, was not equipped to deal with the level of orthopaedic surgery he needed. Instead, she believed SA Ambulance policies meant he had to be taken to the nearest hospital. His fiancee, Victoria Briggs said Mr Jones was in "excruciating pain" as he was X-rayed. He then waited for a transfer to FMC. She said staff advised them they could be waiting another four to five hours for an ambulance and there was "no guarantee" he would be transferred that day. According to Ms Briggs, a staff member told them "if it was them" they would use a private car to move him. She took this advice and transferred Mr Jones herself, with the help of his mother, so he could undergo surgery that same day as his leg was continuing to swell. Despite their efforts, Mr Jones still had to wait until the next day for surgery. Call for change Ms Briggs and Ms Haldane have urged the health minister to consider Mr Jones's experience and the delays and pain he experienced. They have also raised concern for others on the Fleurieu needing orthopaedic surgery, questioning if they could be sent straight to a metropolitan hospital. Ms Briggs stressed they had no issues with the care he had received. "The paramedics were fabulous. All the hospital staff have been wonderful … but something needs to change,"she said. Mr Jones's coach, former police officer Gordon Scott, backed Ms Briggs and Ms Haldane's call for a review. He said someone undertaking a car transfer themselves for an injured loved one could emotionally compromise their driving. "If you're being told there's no patient transport available to transport your loved one for several hours and a better option is to take them in your private car then you're probably going to take that option,"he said. Destination policy A spokesperson from SA Ambulance said the ambulance crew had made the decision to take Mr Jones to the Victor Harbor hospital to "ensure the patient would receive the quickest medical care and quick access to appropriate pain relief options". "The SA Health ambulance destination policy looks at a range of considerations, one of which is transport to an 'appropriate and geographically closest' hospital, as well as other considerations such as the patient's immediate health care needs, demand on individual hospitals etc," they said in a statement. "These decisions are made by appropriate healthcare professionals, depending on the patient's individual needs." [Image text:] Push Be Agaiast w Ensure IV Po