THE family of a Sheffield United fan who collapsed in the stands at Vicarage Road has slammed Watford’s stewards for their slow response.
Play was paused during Monday’s friendly due to an incident in the away end of the stadium.
Stewards and St Johns Ambulance crew attended the emergency – which turned out to be Shanel Crampton, 16, suffering from an adrenaline crisis – after two supporters burst onto the pitch to raise concern for the fan’s wellbeing.
And reports have stated that it took around 10 minutes to attract the attention of the stewards.
Shanel’s mother, who was also at the game, claims it took between “20 and 30 minutes” for her daughter to receive treatment, insisting anything longer than a nine-minute wait could have proved fatal.
Fortunately, Shanel spent the night in Watford General Hospital and was then discharged on Tuesday.
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But Kellie’s anger around the lack of urgency on the medical team’s part has left her furious.
Speaking to The Sheffield Star, she said: “You could see her eyes were going. Fans were shouting ‘she’s dead’ because she wasn’t responding.
“If I’d seen a stranger like that, I’d have probably felt the same. What upset us most was how slow people were to react. We can’t thank the fans enough, of both clubs.
“But I asked a steward if I could get some salt to put in her body and he said no.
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“We were begging for paramedics and an ambulance and there was just nothing. Stewards were just hanging around, chatting, and fans were raging at that point.
“If they’d got to her quicker, she wouldn’t have been half as bad as she would. She ended up worse because they were so slow.”
Kellie then went on to claim that had the situation been more serious then the laboured response could have had fatal consequences.
“It’s like they didn’t know what to do,” she said.
“If someone was having a heart attack, they wouldn’t have stood a chance.
“A lesson needs to be learned for all football clubs. And maybe they need to have more in-depth training on how to cope if something like this happens again.”
And Shanel herself called for more measures to be put in place to avoid a major tragedy.
She said: “Action definitely needs to be taken quicker because next time, with me or anyone else, it’ll be too late and they’ll be gone.
“And who’s that down to? Unfortunately there’ll be a death on someone’s hands.
“It’s made me far more nervous in terms of trusting the whole safety policy and it will put me on edge. It’ll take quite a lot for me to go to a match again, especially to a longer away game.
“It’ll take a while because it’s shaken me up quite a lot. But with the right support through my family, I’ll get there.”
When asked for comment, Watford directed SunSport to their statement on the incident.
It reads: “Among a number of other medical incidents which took place inside Vicarage Road Stadium before and during Monday August 1’s match, a female Sheffield United supporter was treated during the second-half of the game.
“The supporter affected has a pre-existing medical condition, which requires specific medical intervention.
“Stewards alerted St John Ambulance staff to a female supporter feeling unwell during the second-half, so first response medical services were at the scene within two minutes of being called. At this point, the patient was sitting up and conversing with staff.
“Safety and security staff attended in the minutes after, given other supporters’ concern and attempts to alert further attention. These minutes included two supporters – one from the home section and one from the away section – reaching the pitch perimeter AstroTurf in order to raise awareness. The club is satisfied neither of these supporters was attempting a pitch incursion and were simply trying to help.
“Paramedics were called and attended as the patient’s condition regressed rapidly, while other support medical staff liaised directly with East of England Ambulance service, working to advise appropriate care given the very specific nature of the condition.
“After just over nine minutes had elapsed, an ambulance was on-site to transport the patient to nearby Watford General Hospital, under the guidance of the Crowd Doctor who was continuing to stabilise the patient.
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“For further reference, the EEAST (East of England Ambulance Service) press statement reads as below:
‘There were a number of medical incidents at Watford Football Club’s ground on August 1. Towards the end of the match, St John Ambulance alerted our own paramedics, who were on-site in the First Aid room, to an incident where a female had become unwell. Once our crew assessed the patient, we were able to have an ambulance on-scene in just over nine minutes, and she was transported to Watford General Hospital for further assessment and care.’
“As is customary after every home fixture, Watford FC’s matchday debriefing will include a review of operations with the potential for procedural change should it be deemed necessary.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
