Apology after footballer with knee injury waited 10 hours for ambulance

Charlie Fox was injured during Queen's Park's defeat to Partick Thistle on Saturday

The Scottish government's health secretary Neil Gray has apologised to a footballer who waited nearly 10 hours for an ambulance with a dislocated knee.

Charlie Fox, a defender with Queen's Park, was hurt during the Glasgow club's 5-0 defeat to Partick Thistle on Saturday - the injury was so severe that play was stopped for around 10 minutes.

However Fox was left waiting until about 01:00 before an ambulance arrived at Firhill stadium. He was discharged from hospital later on Sunday.

Gray told MSPs he sent his apologies to the defender for the long wait, and that he recognised he would have suffered trauma and pain after the injury.

A Scottish government spokesperson told the BBC that the delay was "unacceptable, and does not meet the standards we expect".

The injury happened about 25 minutes into the Championship fixture on Saturday, and Queen's Park posted on social media: "Doesn't look good. Heartbreaking for the big guy."

Later social media posts by Partick Thistle officials mentioned staff from both clubs had stayed with Fox - who is the vice-captain at Queen's Park - until an ambulance was able to arrive at nearly 01:00.

The health secretary said he understood Charlie Fox would have gone through trauma and pain

The Scottish Ambulance Service said the delays were due to services being under significant pressure and "extended hospital handover delays" - where patients are moved from an ambulance into a hospital.

A spokesperson said: "We would like to apologise for the delay in responding to Mr Fox and for the distress caused.

"At the time of the call, we were experiencing significant demand for our services and extended hospital handover delays due to sustained pressure across NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde's Accident and Emergency departments - with the longest waits being in excess of two hours.

"These delays prevent our ambulance crews from getting back out on the road to treat other patients."

The spokesperson added that an investigation into the incident would be carried out.

Brooke Paterson was covered with jackets to keep warm as she waited for an ambulance earlier this year

Earlier this year the Scottish government apologised to footballer Brooke Paterson, 19, who waited five hours for an ambulance while lying on a pitch with a broken leg.

She was injured while playing for Linlithgow Rose away at Cumbernauld United in North Lanarkshire.

The Scottish government said that ambulance crews had responded to 547 life-threatening incidents during the week of 20 October, with a median response time of eight minutes and 20 seconds.

They said hundreds of extra staff had been recruited for the ambulance service last year.

Meanwhile Fox is awaiting the results of an MRI scan to show the severity of the injury.

Queen's Park head coach Sean Crighton said the club were devastated for the defender, who he described as a huge presence and an immensely popular figure at the club.

He added: "I have been to visit him at home, as have the coaching staff and players, and we hope to see him back around the club and training base sooner rather than later.

"Due to the swelling around the affected area we are still waiting on scan results before we decide on the next steps in his treatment."