PRAYERS were said on Monday evening for a young boy seriously injured in a farm accident last weekend in Castlewellan.
Conor McMullan (11) was the first person to be taken to hospital in Northern Ireland’s new air ambulance — just days before it was officially due to take to the skies — after an incident involving a tractor last Saturday afternoon. He was whisked to the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children where he remains.
A special mass was held at Clanvaraghan on Monday to pray for his speedy recovery, with those in attendance asked to dress in St John’s GAA clothing as Conor is a member of the club’s U-12 team.
The new air ambulance, which is preparing to enter service in Northern Ireland next month, was on a test flight last weekend when the helicopter went to Conor’s assistance and flew him to Belfast in eight minutes.
Emergency services received the call around 1.45pm while the air ambulance team were working through final preparations for the service’s official launch. As a result of the seriousness of the child’s injuries, the decision was taken to deploy the helicopter on its first ever callout and on arrival at the Royal, Conor’s condition was stabilised.
A spokesman for the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) said the boy’s chances had been “helped greatly” by the air ambulance. He continued: “We are very aware that a young boy is in hospital and we must not lose sight of his situation.
“Our thoughts and prayers remain with him in the hope that he makes a full and speedy recovery. His chances have been helped greatly by the early expert care provided to him due to the fact that, alongside the ambulance crew which responded by road, the air ambulance was also tasked to the scene.”
The spokesman said the air ambulance crew had been preparing for the launch of the service in August when the call came through to air desk paramedics Phil Hay and Mike Patton.
“In the interests of patient safety, and without hesitation, the crew of Dr Darren Monaghan (clinical lead), paramedic Glenn O’Rorke (operational lead) and pilot Dave O’Toole took to the air and arrived at the scene in approximately seven minutes,” he continued.
“They worked alongside the Ambulance Service crews delivering emergency care to the young boy and made the decision that, due to the time critical nature of the incident, he should be airlifted to Belfast. The journey time back to Belfast was in the region of eight minutes and much faster than could have been achieved by road.”
The spokesman described last Saturday as a “truly historic day” with everyone’s thoughts drifting to the late Dr John Hinds, the motorcycling doctor who campaigned for an air ambulance before his death.
South Down MLA Colin McGrath extended his best wishes to the injured boy and his family and hopes Conor will make a full recovery. He said the thoughts and prayers of everyone in the community will be with the McMullan family at this time.
“This incident has highlighted the need for appropriate emergency health care in the Down and Mourne area and indeed in the wider rural community of Northern Ireland,” he said. “For too long review after review and consultation after consultation has seen the heart ripped out of rural health care provision such as the Downe Hospital.
“This has resulted in cases such as this, near Castlewellan, where a young boy is badly injured and the nearest appropriate hospital care is nearly one hour away using a second class roads infrastructure that has never been adequately upgraded.”
Mr McGrath said the weekend incident highlighted the benefits of an air ambulance for places such as Down and Mourne and is fully aware that it will not be tasked for every heart attack, stroke or major trauma incident.
He added: “I welcome the swift action of the air ambulance and extend the community’s thanks to them for their work. Dr Hinds, who was an advocate for the service, went to school in Downpatrick and I am sure he would be proud of the fact that its first call was to the rural community of Mid-Down.”