NO FIRST AID

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 11, Issue 86, 30 September 1947, Page 5

NO FIRST AID

SATURDAY’S RUGBY INCIDENT SOME QUESTIONS ANSWERED Rugby fans will read with surprise the paragraph in the Rugby report which states that when J. Marra sustained a broken leg at the Domain on Saturday no first aid was available. Naturally the public who were in attendance asked a number of questions and quite a few requested that the matter be gone into by the Beacon.

This has been done. The St. John Ambulance Brigade and a Rugby Union official were contacted and now we have the facts to set before all those who are wondering. In the first place, while the S.J.A.B is not compelled to attend football or any other sports, members look upon it as their duty to do so. Those contacted deeply regretted the misunderstanding. __ The Brigade is in possession of a draw which, however, did not cover the Bracken Cup match.

Members are detailed on Thursday night for weekend sports but the fixtures did not appear in the Beacon until Friday. The Brigade did not contact the union or vice versa regarding the fixtures. The brigade member who attended Marra, Mr R. Ferry, made all haste when contacted. He spoke favourably on the referee’s (Mr Peebles) decision not to move the injured player until he had been attended. This quite probably saved a lot of suffering. Another point raised was the late arrival of the ambulance. A driver was not being located, as was the general opinion, for the simple reason that the vehicle already had a driver—and was away collecting a patient from Matata. The patient was removed to the hospital and the ambulance left immediately for the Domain.

There then is the explanation—a simple misunderstanding with nobody at fault. The union official contacted said that the brigade had done grand work and could not be blamed. On the other hand neither was the union to blame for a regrettable incident.