An ambulance took an hour and 40 minutes to get to an injured footballer playing a match just TWO MILES away from one of the country's biggest hospitals.
The player broke his leg after an accidental on-field clash in the game between Drogheda GAA junior team St Nicholas and Cuchulainn Gaels from Omeath, Co Louth, last weekend.
The player was in agony and the injury looked serious - so a decision was taken to dial 999 and call for an ambulance.
St Nicholas coach Dee McCarthy said nobody wanted to risk lifting him and driving him to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda, which is only five minutes away by car, in case they caused further damage to the player.
The HSE sent a medic from Navan to the pitch at Rathmullen Road to examine the Omeath player while they tried to get an ambulance.
However, there was no ambulance available at the Lourdes Hospital and instead an ambulance from Tallaght in Dublin was sent.
Mr McCarthy said: " The call was made at 7.40 and it got there at 9.20pm It took one hour and 40 minutes to get to our pitch.
"Our main concern was the player's welfare. But the ambulance took so long the game had to be abandoned."
Drogheda Sinn Fein TD Imelda Munster said a one hour and 40 minute delay for an ambulance was "inexcusable" with a hospital up the road.
She stated: "My heart goes out to the poor lad who broke his leg and the pain he was in.
"But imagine if he had suffered a heart attack or a life threatening injury what would have happened then?
"They are down an ambulance crew at the Lourdes because of a disciplinary dispute. It needs to be sorted as quickly as possible before someone dies.
"It would not take longer than five to seven minutes to drive from the Lourdes Hospital to the pitch.
"Having to bring an ambulance the whole way from Tallaght is a joke. There should have been one available locally."
The HSE has been contacted for a comment.
