Footballer waits five hours for ambulance after on-pitch injury

Brooke Paterson, a 19-year-old centre-back for Linlithgow Rose Ladies FC, suffered a double leg fracture during Sunday’s SWF Regional League Cup match against Cumbernauld United. The injury occurred in the 70th minute and Paterson says she spent about five hours on the pitch waiting for an ambulance in freezing conditions. The teenager had just returned from a football scholarship in the United States and remains focused on a return to the sport.

Paterson described hearing her leg snap and said the pain was the worst she had felt. She quickly realized it was serious and grew frustrated as time passed, lying on the cold pitch with no pain relief and an uncomfortable position that prevented her from straightening the leg. She said she cried and experienced a mini-panic attack as the hours dragged on, while family and club officials pressed for help.

Despite several 999 calls, help did not arrive promptly. A doctor from another Cumbernauld team, alerted by the Linlithgow Rose chairman, attended to her before paramedics arrived. Paterson was eventually transported to Forth Valley Hospital, where an X-ray confirmed a double fracture. Doctors inserted a nail through the knee down to the ankle, pinned the bones at both ends, and performed adjustments to straighten the leg.

Paterson is now in recovery and remains determined to return to football. She said she is studying law and had recently finished a football scholarship in the United States; she reaffirmed her dream of becoming a professional player and still hopes to wear Scotland’s jersey one day. She told reporters that she will keep working toward the goal and will not let the injury derail her plans.

Paterson said she plans to file a complaint with the Scottish Ambulance Service and urged reforms to prevent similar delays in the future, insisting that something in the system needs to change. Her mother, Charlotte Paterson, added that the ambulance service had it wrong and that call-center handling must improve, noting her own experience from 10 years in policing and urging greater urgency in such cases.

The Scottish Ambulance Service acknowledged that there were a number of calls about the incident and apologized for the delays. A spokesman said the service would be in touch with Paterson to discuss the issue once she is well enough.