Good point

had forgot about that, was in last few years as well

I was sitting just along the row with my lad and couldn't quite believe the apparent lack of urgency. I'm not a medic, mind.

it was appalling the time it took to get help there

and the paramedics couldn't get past the ice cream/pie and peas/burger ques.


And while we're on it why don't the stewards check entry onto the carnegie terrace these days.I mean ANYONE could get in.

Seriously tad, you should bring this to the clubs attention. Appalling.

i could be wrong but i don't think there was an ambulance on site. i'm sure i heard this said.
i thought you had to have a certain number depending on the size of the crowd

There was a paramedic ambulance just outside the club shop at half time.

The St Johns station is in a room underneath the Headingley Lodge isn't it ?

Thats about two minutes walk from the Carnegie Stand - if you dawdle.

They have a very large supply of polos on hand for the sick and injured.

Agree it took far too long for the paramedics to get there to say it seemed right from the start that it was a medical emergency.

I sit 5 seats away from the gentleman in question and if it hadnt have been for the two ladies who sit next to him i dont know what would have happened. It was scandolous how long it took any medical staff to arrive. I honestly thought he was dead. The stewards all just stood around looking at each other and when the st johns turned up it seemed to be ages before the actual paramedics turned up. Fortunately the gentleman seemed to be coherent when they eventually got him onto a stretcher chair to get him downstairs. I have to confess it didnt look good at one point and the stewards seemed to have no idea what to do. Surely they must have to have some sort of first aid training?

When covering such a big crowd I would be shocked if St John didn't have a De-fib on site - but of course a heart attack doesn't always require a de-fib but one should have been available if needed.

IMO the steward should have radioed immediately for medical help and first aiders should have been on the scene within minutes (I assume they station themselves throughout the ground as well having one main base). For it to take so long for assistance to arrive something has gone wrong somewhere in the communication chain and it is essential you report your concerns the the Club (and possibly also South and West Yorks SJA too) in order to ensure that something like this doesn't happen again..

It would be far better if Luke Burgess learnt how to catch a ball.He nearly caused 14000 heart attacks this aft.
Joking apart,hope the guy in question is ok!

Hard to say without being there, depends on the situation but I would hope one would be on site - if not that seems a massive oversight imo. If one was needed then yes but it may not have been needed depending on what had happened.


As I said in situations like this those concerned are best putting their concerns in writing to those involved to try to prompt an investigation.

This frightens me.

If I were ever going to have a heart attack one of the best places I could think of to be (apart from the A&E dept at the LGI) would be in a packed stand at a ‘well equipped’ sport stadium with medical facilities close to hand.

Hopefully this incident will highlight the need for better trained stewards instead of clueless 20 year old students in florescent oversized coats whose only prerequisite for the job seems to be a gormless expression.

Hope this guy makes a fast a full recovery.

I'm a first aid instructor trainer amongst my many talents, so if the club want some training, they know who to call.

My incident took place in the middle of the South Stand, during a packed game. Thankfully, the incident in question wasn't a serious one, but it 'could' have been ...

The stewarding was clueless, witnessed by several other people who post on this board and who backed up my assesment of the situation.

As for bringing this to the club's attention, I did ... Both directly after the event and subsequently in writing. I even offered to give them some advise on how to make their system more robust ... I wasn't even afforded a half-decent reply by the director in question (now no longer with the club)

One of these days, the club could potentially face a serious incident with an individual. Something that could be subject to an investigation or even civil proceedings .... A lot of expensive chickens could come home to roost.

Indeed not, but by its very nature a defib kit makes the decision for you by first detecting the 'ventrical fibulation' (sp ?) of an 'attacked' heart. If it can't scan it, it won't shock no matter what the problem is.

The way I teach people to use them, with a training kit and a dummy is literally to show someone how to turn the machine on ... It then 'talks' you through the rest of the process with little or no experience required.

They are 'that' easy to use ...

I am also a first aid trainer so am aware how simple they are to use.

My point was though that him having a heart attack could be on so many scales of severity and as nobody who was there mentioned anybody having to do CPR I also wondered (perhaps wrongly) that this wasn't the case for this man (and indeed I hope it wasn't) in which case the De-fib wouldn't have been needed but imo should have still been brought to the site ready for if things did take to a turn.

As for the club not responding to your concerns that is very worrying indeed and I would be tempted to take it further and report it to the RFL - although I doubt they would take it seriously either but at least you would be able to say you have done more than your fair share to help resolve the issue.

This highlights something I have said for a long time though which is the lack lustre approach too many people have towards first aid, the expect there to always be someone there to help them in such a situation but too few (and more often than not only those made to do so for work purposes) take the time to have any training in it and empower themselves with the ability to help those around them. The fact the club seem to take such an approach is very concerning imo.

I was sat on the back row of the carnegie stand & saw the St Johns & wondered what was happening - I know they seemed to be ages treating the man - I hope he is ok

The stewards at the stadium just don't care.

The majority of stewards are students who couldn't give a stuff and are only there to watch a free game and get paid for it.

I know, I've worked there.

Cos you can go in the Carnegie terrace with any ticket? Cant you Lawrie?



Still back on topic and i think it's a disgrace the length of time it took for St. Johns to react. I'm shocked there isn't a de-fib etc on site when we have a game on. Not only for the crowd, but players too.

Players are generally a different kettle of fish so to speak - the clubs own medical team is responsible for the treatment of players and unless specifically requested St John Ambulance (or other first aid providing organisations) are not allowed to enter the pitch area.

I was sitting in the same row as the gentleman and it was appalling at the lack of apparent facilities that were available and the speed that the St Johns arrived on the scene and what they actually did to help the situation. It is easy to point the finger at the steward but she did the best to get assistance asap. The club should be made aware that there medical facilities were found to be woefully inadequate and that the supporters do not find this acceptable. I intend to phone HQ and speak to the appropriate person to get an assurance that improvements will be made.
I know that Man utd have at least one registered Doctor in every tier of their stands in case of medical emergency.

- It sounds like it took too long for SJA to arrive I agree, but how long did it take for them to be informed they were needed? Was it communication from Stewards to them that failed or did they just not respond fast enough.

- And for someone having a heart attack there is often very little first aid wise that can be done to for someone having a heart attack other than to make them comfortable and monitor them until they are moved to hospital - half the battle can be keeping the person and (those around them) calm and easing the discomfort.