The following guidance is for event organisers to assist them in the provision of adequate first aid and medical cover for events following best practice and statutory guidance.
In planning for events, the event organiser is expected to undertake a risk assessment that considers the medical requirements and decide on the level of cover required after consulting the below guides.
Useful guides on the minimum and safe levels of cover dependant on the event type:
- The Purple Guide
- Guide to Safety at Sports Grounds 5th Edition (Department for Culture, Media and Sports)
- A Good Practice Guide For The Provision Of First Aid & Medical Services At UK Athletics Licensed Road Races (United Kingdom Athletics, Road Race Medical Services)
The event organiser will need to ensure that a competent medical provider is appointed to provide medical cover and a number of checks should be made for the organisers to be assured that the medical provider is capable of delivering the service.
The following are key checks and considerations that event organisers should make on organisations providing medical and first aid cover:
- Public Liability Insurance – this should be current and valid providing cover for any negligence claims and for the provision of first aid and medical cover (this should cover all people providing the cover eg all first aiders).
- For ambulance operators providing treatment and transport, they should be able to provide evidence of current Care Quality Commission (CQC) registration. This should be mandatory where the provider transports people off an event site to hospital.
- Where the provider uses Registered Health professionals eg paramedics, nurses and doctors, the supplier should provide registration numbers for these people to enable the event organiser to check their registration status. Where registered professionals are required as part of the cover recommended, all individuals should have current valid UK registration with their relevant body.
- Where guidance indicates an ambulance is required for the event this normally means the ambulance should be crewed with a least one registered paramedic. The ambulance crew would normally consist of a second crew member trained to a suitable standard to operate an emergency ambulance eg ambulance technician etc.
- Ambulance provision provided on site for the event (where required) should be capable and willing to transport any patients who require hospitalisation, to a suitable Emergency Department with minimal delays. It is expected that where ambulance cover is indicated in the guidance for the event there should be no requirement for 999 calls to the local ambulance service (except for multiple casualties or a major incident).
- Ambulance providers should be capable of providing emergency transportation to hospital eg blue light transfer for life threatening conditions. The provider should be able to demonstrate suitable insurance and driver competence for this if required.