The Better Festival Group

I'm curious ..
what is your opinion on medical staff at festivals ?
what could they do better ?
is there anywhere you would like to see them more often ?

the reason i ask is that as someone who works in the Event Medical sector i am used to seeing groups concentrate on the arenas with maybe a first aid tent near the section between the campsite / arena area in addition to the ambulance holding areas and field hospitals.

i have heard on the Sonisphere forum the suggestion that more medics in the campsites would be good so ...... what are your thoughts ?
have any of you needed attention and got it ? what were your thoughts ?

this is only aimed at getting your opinion, i thought i'd stretch the Better Festival notion and see if it could be applied to the medical side of things too.

Thanks for your input

Mark Dolan
South Coast Emergency Medical Services

I had to visit the med tent at Sonisphere, sprained my ankle quite badly, and the staff there were brilliant. Looked after me proper, although I'd have liked it if they'd had a vehicle on site as I found it pretty hard to get back to my tent (staff camping), might have been easier with a vehicle to take me as far as it could. Just an idea there, but otherwise, they were fast, friendly and generally excellent

Although, when working in the Info tent, we had someone who'd spilt boiling water on their foot and it took quite a while for the medical types to get there, so perhaps medics in the campsite/basic first aid training for volunteers might be an idea to consider? Even if it was one person per tent, I'd be happy getting basic first aid training!

cool - thats exactly the type of feedback i'm after
you mention a vehicle to get you back .. what was the access like to staff camping ? was it across fields or was there an access road ? i guess i'm asking would you have needed a 4x4 type vehicle or a car, or would something like a golf buggy have been suitable ?
i was at Soni as a member of the public so didn't see what the staff camping was like.
re: first aid training ... how early do you guys get there ? do you arrive on the day of early entry or are you there the day before ?

from EE camping to the medical tent was MILES AWAY, maybe mini health welfare tents? or just first aid would be good.
the vehicle idea was good.
I was lucky enough to not need the welfare at sonisphere
I liked the fact there were actual beds inside, not a rollmat like at Leeds fest, which looked uncomfy.

i remember seeing a first aid post opposite the showers as you headed from camping up to the stalls / shops etc. (just before the arena) - although i also remember seeing signs saying it was unstaffed and to head to the main post. Hmm if that was 24hr manned would that be a good idea or a little OTT ?

i'm trying to gauge everyones reactions / opinions - we have an idea of what we would do but this is a useful exercise for us to get YOUR opinions and maybe improve our ideas for our future events.

b.u.m.p.


any more feedback people ?

At Sonisphere I was having trouble with my Hypermobility Syndrome and didn't have the right painkillers with me (I'm usually prescribed a high mg), so I went to the medical tent when my joints started swelling. The only thing they said to me was that I could purchase some paracetamol at the pharmacy place near the Bohemia Tent (who wanted to charge more than I could afford for the pills). I did try and explain my condition more but they didn't seem to know how to deal with it, so I spent the rest of the festival having to sit down at regular intervals which meant missing some bands.

I don't expect there to be a solution or even a better response this year if the same situation was to happen again, but I just thought I'd mention it because it seems like there's some conditions maybe the paramedics don't know much about or know how to deal with. He was a really lovely chap, though.



(Apologies if this made no sense, I'm rather hungover/tired, hehe)

Hypermobility Syndrome would be an unusual one for medics to come across, to be honest there are limits to the drugs that can be given out within the ambulance guidleines, Paracetamol would be the obvious choice but the mg that we can give i believe is limited and the fact you mention you are prescribed the painkillers is probably the reason they couldn't do much. PM me the painkillers and mg you are on if you like and i will check whether it IS something that might be able to be dealt with on site like that. (i have my doubts but i WILL check if you want).

My suggestion to anyone though, as i'm sure you can guess, would be to make sure you pack any medication that you need to be on during a festival just in case.

Alternatively .. ask at the forum meetings for the festival you are going to whether there will be any Pharmacy facilities there.

B
U
M
P

let me have your feedback peoples ....

Thanks

ok i waited til a few more people joined before BUMPing this one again but i am really interested in your feedback

Thanks

Mark