Adelaide 36ers player Benjamin Griscti was injured during a training session at the AIS. Photo: National Basketball League (Kelly Defina/Getty Images).
Ambulance Services ACT’s head has confirmed it took an ambulance 96 minutes to reach a basketball player who had been injured after a backboard collapsed onto him at the AIS Arena.
An Adelaide 36ers statement said that centre Benjamin Griscti suffered a fractured vertebrae in his neck as a result of the incident during the team’s training shoot-around on Saturday (30 August), ahead of their NBL Blitz game against Tasmania.
“He won’t require surgery and is expected to make a full recovery,” a team statement read.
“He has travelled home to Adelaide, and a timeline for him to return to the court will not be set until he is able to get further medical advice to determine the next steps around the management of the injury.”
ACTAS chief officer David Dutton confirmed how long it took from the first Triple Zero call for an ambulance to arrive on Tuesday (2 September).
“There were two call-backs to emergency triple zero whilst those people were waiting for the ambulance, and the paramedics arrived on scene 96 minutes after the first emergency triple zero call,” he said.
Chief Dutton said the call had been “appropriately” triaged as a priority or code two.
According to the Productivity Commission, code two responses are “urgent” and require an “undelayed response … without lights and sirens”.
It has a key performance indicator of up to 90 minutes for an ambulance to arrive.
“There were a number of other emergencies in the Territory at the time of that call, and as soon as we were able to dispatch a paramedic crew to that patient, they attended, and they transported that patient in a stable condition through to the emergency department,” Chief Dutton said.
“I can confirm that [when call-backs were received], there was no change in the patient’s condition, and therefore no change to the priority of the ambulance response.
“[The] patient was conscious, alert and breathing the whole time and was attended by a team doctor,” he said.
Both the National Basketball League and the Australian Sports Commission are investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident.
Region contacted the Commonwealth Government, which funds the facility, to ask whether the incident would change funding priorities.
It has previously been reported that at least $200 million is needed to bring the AIS (excluding Canberra Stadium) up to scratch.
“The government invested $15 million to refurbish the AIS Arena to allow it to reopen in 2024,” a spokesperson said.
“The incident that occurred over the weekend is being taken seriously by the Australian Sports Commission, who operate the venue and is looking into the matter.
“Our thoughts are with the athlete during his recovery.”
The Adelaide 36ers went down 97-95 against the Tasmania JackJumpers on Saturday night.
