Relatives of a Dublin teenager who suffered a heart attack while playing football expressed concerns at his inquest about how staff at the leisure centre where he collapsed had handled the emergency.
Mr Paul Doherty (17), of Castlepark, Tallaght, died while playing five-a-side football with friends at Astro Park, Greenhills Road, Tallaght, last March. Mr Doherty, an only child, was pronounced dead on arrival at St James's Hospital, a jury at Dublin City Coroner's Court was told yesterday.
Witnesses who were playing football with Mr Doherty on the night he died told the court that staff at Astro Park had delayed calling an ambulance until they had assessed Mr Doherty themselves. One witness said it took half-an-hour for the ambulance to arrive. Mr Doherty's mother, Ms Una Doherty, repeatedly expressed concerns about this.
But a manager from the centre, Mr Gerard Ashmore, contested the witnesses' evidence. He said an ambulance was called as soon as staff were told that Mr Doherty was seriously sick. Mr Ashmore, who is trained in first aid, said it took 15 minutes for the ambulance to arrive and he had video evidence to show its time of arrival.
He said that he ran to assess the situation and, while he was gone, another member of staff phoned for an ambulance. In all, he said, there were three phone calls made to the emergency services to stress the urgency of the situation.
According to Mr Ashmore, it was policy for staff, who are all trained in first aid, to check the situation and then call an ambulance. "In this case we called an ambulance straight away," he said.
The investigating officer in the case, Sgt Dermot Neill, of Tallaght Garda station, gave evidence which supported Mr Ashmore's account. The court heard Mr Doherty had a serious congenital heart condition. The City Coroner, Dr Brian Farrell, explained to the jury that Mr Doherty was predisposed to a sudden collapse, especially during extreme exercise. His family did not know he had this condition.
Mr Ruairi Deegan told the inquest that Mr Doherty was playing football and he stopped after half-an-hour to rest and then became sick.
The jury returned a verdict of death due to natural causes. It asked that Astro Park management be made aware of the concerns of Mr Doherty's family.