Medical plan

Sports grounds management must ensure that during events there is in place an appropriate level of medical care for all persons present at the venue.

The Medical Plan is a critical part of the Operations Manual, outlining the levels of medical and first aid provision appropriate to the venue, the event being held and the profile of the spectators attending.

It is determined by a Medical Needs Assessment, determines the level of provision and medical personnel required.

When drawing up a Medical Plan, experience shows that it is increasingly necessary, especially at large grounds, to respond to a wide range of medical needs during an event, from routine first aid, minor illnesses and exacerbation of long term or pre-existing conditions to acute illness or trauma related emergencies.

What should be included in the plan

Personnel

• The number of medical personnel needed for an event (including Event Doctors, paramedics or first aiders)
• the numbers, duties and location of all members of the medical team  
• the type, number and location of ambulances and their crew competencies
• the command structure, lines of responsibility and decision-making protocol within the medical team, particularly where medical teams consist of multiple providers 
• the co-ordination and means of communication between members of the medical team, interaction with the ground’s safety management team and with medical providers outside the ground 
• the clear identification of all medical personnel, such as uniforms, high visibility jackets or tabards   

Facilities and equipment

• The size, location and number of permanent or temporary first aid rooms and facilities  
• the recording of all medical equipment and materials required for the first aid room, for any satellite first aid facilities, and for use in response kits carried by mobile or roving medical and first aid teams, along with the procedures for the procurement, replacement and safe disposal of such materials and equipment 
• the provision of welfare facilities for medical service personnel  

Procedures

• Where appropriate, the deployment of mobile first aid units and/or of roving first aiders
• procedures for the pre-event inspection of medical facilities and equipment  
• procedures for responding to, and managing incidents which require a medical response 
• procedures for transferring individuals from specific areas of the ground, for example from the upper tiers of large stands, and the procedures for the transport of patients to NHS services or other providers. 
• arrangements for the evacuation of disabled spectators, when medical assistance is required 
• the identification of an appropriate rendezvous point for ambulances, and where appropriate, a landing/rendezvous point for an air ambulance.   

Reviews

The Medical Plan should be reviewed annually. Where there has been a serious incident or a near miss event, the relevant sections of the Medical Plan should be reviewed and updated prior to the annual review.  

It should also be reviewed should there be any changes in medical providers or circumstances, such as an expansion of the ground’s capacity.