Almost two hour wait on ambulance for Belturbet footballer with broken leg

Club members had to drive Enda Henry to hospital when ambulance failed to turn up

A BELTURBET footballer waited almost two hours for an ambulance after he was injured playing a Round 2 Cavan Senior Championship match yesterday evening (Thursday).

Senior player, Enda Henry, had only come on for Rory O’Moore’s with 15 minutes to go in the clash with Killeshandra when he sustained a broken leg during play at approximately 8:50 pm.

He was transferred to a stretcher and an ambulance was called to take the well-known player the short distance from where the match was played in Pairc Emmet, Butlersbridge'to Cavan General Hospital.

By 10:30pm when an ambulance hadn’t arrived club members tending to Enda took the difficult decision to drive him to hospital by car.

A statement from Rory O’Moore’s GFC today says: “Enda’s leg is broken and [he's] hoping to get it operated on today in Drogheda [hospital].

“The club would like to thank the physios, nurses and our club officials who attended to him on the pitch and also to the Butlersbridge officials for their support.

“A word of thanks also to Killeshandra players and officials for their understanding after the incident.”

The one hour 50 minute wait for an ambulance in Butlersbridge highlights an ongoing issue with response times in the Cavan / Monaghan region.

In 2023, the wait time in 211 emergency cases in both counties exceeded an hour.