After months of planning and the delivery of a successful event, the scrim is taken down and the unused cable ties are packed away ready for another day. This is not the end however for the medical team, who then begin putting together a medical report that will help shape event delivery of future events.
What should be in a medical report?
Broadly the report includes several key components:
1) A condensed summary of the medical resourcing on the day including its distribution around the event site.
2) A statement on the weather conditions on the day(s).
3) A presentation of the raw data for each medical location/resource, along with an analysis of it to generate any key learning or action points.
4) A commentary of any other issues that impacted (or had the potential to impact) on the medical delivery and key learning points taken from them.
Why is it needed?
The report serves several functions:
· To share the headline medical data with all relevant people.
· To evaluate the data – looking for trends and causation that can be acted on in the future, with the aim to reduce the incident rates of injury/illness and the numbers requiring hospital transfer.
· To act as a reminder when planning for subsequent events (in the same footprint) of any issues that could be mitigated against e.g. placing a specific barrier line differently to help ambulance access or improving signage to signpost medical more clearly.
How quickly should it be written?
Essentially as quickly as possible while information is fresh in the mind of the author and to allow the action points to be reviewed prior to any further events. Ideally this should be within a matter of days of the event close.
Who writes it?
For events with a medical director, then the writing of the report will fall under their remit. For smaller events, the medical planning lead from the contracted medical provider should take on this role.
Who is it for?
The report should be distributed to the event organsier and medical provider leads. For large events it is also shared with the regional ambulance service planner and on some occasions the NHS receiving hospitals. Some governing bodies may also ask for site of the report as standard or on a more adhoc basis.
How long should it be?
This is very much dependent on the event type, duration and number of participants at the event. It would be unusual for a report to be under 4 pages for example but could reach over 20 pages for supersized multi day events.
How can I find out more on this?
Feel free to contact us at enquiries@sportsmedicsltd.comand we will be happy to help you.
