Physios, players and nurses wait with injured shinty player for two hours for ambulance as they are praised for the role in incident
PHYSIOS and nurses have been praised for waiting with an injured shinty player for almost two hours for an ambulance after he suffered a severe blow to the head that left him unconscious.
Lovat forward Cammy Macmillan was knocked out accidentally when he was hit with a caman to the head during their Premiership clash with Caberfeidh in Kiltarlity on Saturday.
The incident took place during the 38th minute of the match at around 3.10pm when an ambulance was immediately called for and the match was later abandoned.
Paramedics did not arrive at the club’s Balgate pitch until 4.58pm, almost two hours after the call was made. However, medics from both Lovat and Caberfeidh, along with two nurses who were spectators at the game, treated him at the scene.
Macmillan was kept on the ground until paramedics arrived to take him to hospital where he was released later that night.
Lovat manager Iain Nicolson praised the work of the physio, players and spectators who waited with Macmillan until the ambulance arrived.
Nicolson said: “Cammy suffered a blow to the side of the face and was wearing a helmet when he ended up on the tail end of a swing.
“He came in at the wrong angle and caught the blow. There was a lengthy wait for the ambulance to arrive which was called for almost instantly after the challenge took place.
“Medics from Lovat and Caberfeidh both attended to Cammy along with two nurses who were spectators at the match.
“They stayed with him on the pitch until the ambulance. There was concern with the length of time for the ambulance to arrive, but I also appreciate the workload that they have to handle as part of their job so I can’t be critical of them.”
“He was released from hospital that night and he is recovering well from the injury.”
Lovat club president John MacRitchie paid tribute to everyone involved who treated Macmillan while waiting for paramedics to arrive.
MacRitchie said: “A player from Caberfeidh put him in the recovery position as soon as the incident happened. It was fantastic that everyone was so supportive and it put a bad situation in a good light.
“The ambulance arrived almost two hours after they were contacted. We appreciate there might have been at incidents at the time elsewhere.
“Cammy was not moved from the park at all until the ambulance team arrived. It is better to be safe than sorry and they kept him there until the professionals arrived.
“The physios did brilliantly to ensure there was no possibility of any additional injury. Cammy is still sore but no breaks or anything like that at all.”
Macmillan declined to comment when contacted today.
The Scottish Ambulance Service said due to high demand on their services on Saturday, they were unable to attend the incident for almost two hours.
A spokeswoman said: “We can confirm that we received a call at 15:11 on Saturday to attend this incident. Due to high demand at this time, we unfortunately could not attend immediately. We arrived on scene at 16:58 and transported the patient to Raigmore Hospital.”
The sport’s governing body Camanachd Association released a statement paying tribute to all those who helped.
It said: “First and foremost, we wish the player a full and speedy recovery.
“We're grateful to all involved who prioritised player safety and acted with care and composure throughout the incident.
“We look forward to the player returning to play when the time is right.”
