Medical cover for events

At an event the question is not whether medical help will be needed, but how long it takes to arrive. Event medical cover means the crew is already where the crowd is: heat exhaustion, faintness, a fall, an injury or a genuine emergency can be dealt with immediately.

What we bring to the venue

Cover is made up of three things: crew, equipment and vehicle standby. What level each of these needs to be is decided by the number of participants, the venue and the nature of the programme.

• At a smaller indoor venue, or one that is easy to survey, a foot patrol is often enough: medical staff with an emergency bag, no ambulance.
• Where the headcount is higher, or transporting a patient is a real possibility, we recommend a mobile patrol with a basic or an advanced life support ambulance.

How the cover plan is written

First we go through the venue: where the unit stands, how the ambulance gets in and out, where the stage, the audience area and the catering are. Then we put together the crew and the vehicle standby, and record it in a written quote — the organiser may well need that when dealing with the authority.

For multi-day programmes or several venues we work with more than one unit and with shift changes, so that cover is continuous for the whole programme.

When to ask for a quote

As soon as you have the date and the venue. Units fill up quickly during the summer festival season and on long weekends, so the earlier the better. For a quote the date, the venue and the expected headcount are enough.