I've been looking into what would be required to provide an adequate standard of para/medical support for your event. As you can imagine it is a bit of a legal minefield, complicated by interstate issues and the tyranny of distance and remote medicine.
The advice I have from an Area Manager here in Victoria who is tied up in the rallying side of motorsport reads as follows:
Dave,
I have spoken to several people that I deal with at rallies and motor sport events and they have offered the following advice.
As a qualified paramedic, any work that you do should always be within your normal scope of practise eg. ALS.
If an event is officially sanctioned by CAMS (Confederation Of Australian Motor sport) then paramedics are covered under the CAMS event insurance for legal indemnity, however as highlighted above, only to your level of practise.
If you are working for a team spherically, eg Subaru/ Mitsubishi etc, then you will need to have a doctor authorise your scope of practise.
If the event is not a CAMS event, but you are working for the organisation that is running the event, then a doctors sign off and some form of medical indemnity would be required.
Any time that any of the events are conducted it is general practise to notify the relevant ambulance service so they know that you are there and what your role is.
All the people that I spoke to made the point that there are some "grey" areas around supporting some of these events, and that you need to be very careful when setting up to assist. They also made the point that you need to have the appropriate equipment to fulfil any role you intend to carry out. This can be very expensive, as you're aware. Hope this helps.
Regards,
Graham
I am also following up with another company involved in this sort of thing that I have a family paramedic connection with. That may be the only affordable way of getting the gear I would need for the week, though there would obviously still be a cost involved.
At this stage I have potentially three paramedics prepared to make the trip over including myself, and haven't really had to chase hard to find them.
With only six months left to go time is getting by fast.
I have suggested to Rob Caroll several months ago that any medical support while primarily there for racers is just as likely to be utilised should a pit/team crew member be injured or have a medical condition in the pits, or should a spectator be injured or become ill.
As a spectator who inadvertently became involved in the event in 2006 I felt that while it would require logistics and management the levying of fees on spectators is the clubs next big untapped source of revenue.
Spectator fees seemed to run on an honesty system and I feel fairly certain that there were many on the salt who did not pay their fair share. Rigorous levying of spectator fees could go a long way to offsetting any costs involved for medical support and lessen the cost burden to competitors.
I'm still not even close to working out what providing support would cost though the intent if I can do it is to provide appropriate support for a mininum cost - whatever that may be. If EMSA loan/provide equipment that would otherwise be billed out in Melbourne for the week they will need to recover some costs. I'm not out to make any money out of this exercise.
Speaking to a member at Silverton in June it was even suggested maybe that some of the less portable equipment that may be needed should be purchased and left up there, though obviously nothing that would be perishable.
As competitors this is an area of your great event that really is going to need some work over the next few years particularly given the growth in the bike scene.
I am unaware of any CAMS involvement in your event - I assume that they are not?
What is available that could be provided on the salt to setup a First Aid Station in the event that it should be needed as a shelter to stabilise a patient prior to the arrival of RFDS for aeromedical evacuation? (Marquee? Empty team trailer of suitable size?)
What is the expectation of the event participants with respect to support versus cost? Obviously a stretcher transport vehicle is cost prohibitive though it would be the optimum scenario as it provides a means to treat, stabilise and transport a patient. Competitors are obviously aware of the limitations that the location places on what can be practically achieved. If that is not practical what would competitors expect?
What governing body is the event operated under, and what are their requirements? Are they available to download anywhere?
What if any formal arrangements exist with RFDS? If they were required are they prepared to land on the lake? Have they in the past? Or would transport of a patient be required back to the station airstrip? (This would complicate matters on a whole new level...)
Your experiences, opinion & suggestions are invited.
Regards
Dave