Event Medical
Welcome to the Event Medical Association, a newly founded association, representing medical providers working within the events industry.
Our objectives:
- To promote the highest standards of medical care at outdoor events
- To encourage and support good clinical and corporate governance
- To encourage and support continued development of staff and volunteers and the maintenance of their qualifications and competencies
- To share experience and good practice and provide mutual support
- To provide a forum for discussion and debate amongst event medical providers
- To represent the event medical sector and actively promote its good standing
- To negotiate discounted goods and services for members
In short, if you care about the quality of care that events give to their audiences and spectators, we’d love for you to be a part of this association.
This is a sector of the industry that is currently underrepresented, not always understood and in need of a collective voice to respond to proposed legislation and to bring a positive influence to the industry by gathering data, intelligence and insight.
At the Event Medical Association, we are bringing together businesses with shared values around quality care for the people we look after and support for the practitioners who provide it.
We also seek to work with event organisers to raise awareness of what ‘good’ looks like, their own obligations to their audiences, and how we, as an association can ensure the very best services are provided, without compromise.
The founding of this association underlines the need for this level of representation and the ambition of event medical providers to continually challenge the quality of what we do, sharing learning and best practice across the sector.
News
Event Medical Provision – The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Showman’s Show, Newbury – 24 October 2024
Facilitator: Bev Osborne, Training4Resilience. Panel: Charlotte Oliver, Festival Republic, Graeme Few, South Central NHS Ambulance Trust, Justin Williams, Southwestern NHS Ambulance Trust, Ed Langford, Enhanced Care Services, Dave Parry, Festival Medical Services
Choosing a medical provider
Event organiser must decide on the scope of cover to be provided; may range from simple first aid with reliance on NHS for anything more serious to a full and comprehensive service with most presentations managed and discharged on site.
Medical providers need as much information about the event as the organiser can provide before tendering. Numbers attending, activities on site, location, access and egress, whether there is overnight camping, known hazards and likely issues, historical casualty data, etc. With this information, they can conduct a medical risk assessment and draft a costed medical plan and infrastructure specification.
Organisers should compare submissions from various providers and ask questions about how and why they differ. The local NHS ambulance service can give useful guidance and early engagement with them is advised.
Event organisers have to balance the level of cover provided and the aspiration to reduce the impact of their event on the local NHS against cost considerations and may need to “meet the provider in the middle”.
NHS ambulance services cannot recommend specific providers but can point out shortcomings in submitted plans and advise where further clarity is needed.
A good medical provider
Event organisers want to provide a good customer experience and the safety and welfare of those attending is paramount. As well as providing effective and reliable medical cover at the event, a good provider can support the event in other ways such as advising on and planning mitigating potential health threats, infection prevention and control measures, reporting health and safety hazards and working closely with welfare, safeguarding and other services on site. This support will be most effective if the medical provider is made part of the event delivery team and involved throughout the planning phase as well as the show itself.
After the event a good provider will seek feedback from NHS teams on the impact of the event and their services on the local healthcare community and produce a detailed report of all aspects of medical activity associated with the event to aid future planning.
EMA will consider developing systems of peer review of members’ services and mutual aid to provide additional or specialist capacity at events.
Existing and future regulation
An Event Healthcare Standard is being developed but in the meantime there is only advice and guidance.
Safety Advisory groups and NHS organisations have no statutory powers and can only advise. In extreme situations, ambulance and other emergency services may advise refusal of a licence (where one is needed) unless planned medical provision on site is improved.
SAGs vary greatly around the country in the degree to which they scrutinise event licensing; for some events, none is convened. Emergency services do not have an agenda to stop events happening; their role is to help, support and advise.
We’d like to thank both the National Outdoor Events Association (NOEA) and
The Showman’s Show for their support in setting up this association.
List of members
- Alliance Pioneer Group
- Ambulance Services 24 Ltd
- Arley Medical Services Ltd
- East Sussex Medical
- Elite Medical
- Enhanced Care Services
- Festimed
- Festival Medical Services
- Location Medical Services
- MB Medical Solutions
- Medevent Medical Services Ltd
- Medics UK North East Ltd
- MET Medical Ltd
- MK Medical
- R.J.O Medical Ltd
- St Andrew’s First Aid
- VTS Event Medical Services Ltd
Pre-Hospital Emergency Training – 10% Discount for EMA members
A highly practical multi-disciplinary course focused on the pre-hospital emergency care of adults. Frequently attended by event and sports medics.
Covering ABC interventions, cardiac arrest, haemorrhage, fractures, head and neck injuries, sudden illness and administering emergency medicines.
Training delivered throughout the year in Luton and Staffordshire.
EMA members use code BASICS10 for a 10% discount.
“NOEA has been absolutely fantastic in your support for all of us.”
“I’m sure all your members are thankful for your assistance in these trying times.”
“Thank you for your time and commitment keeping us updated about the effects of the pandemic on the events industry.”
“You guys are doing an amazing job of supporting the industry – you were out there first and are such a key resource!”
“We have been glued to your information bulletins.”
“Keep ’em coming … NOEA’s proactivity on this topic is much appreciated!”
“Thank you for all your information and updates.”
“… the daily emails summarising the position, especially related to events, are very useful indeed …”
“You are doing an AMAZING job supporting members”
“… had to drop you a line to say how amazing your communications have been …”