SUPPLEMENT
May 2008
Emergency Medicine Journal
Medical Services at the 2012
Olympic Games and Paralympic
Games: an interview with Richard
Budgett
The London 2012 Olympic Games will bring
thousands of athletes and visitors to London,
and will create opportunities for doctors who
want to contribute to the success of the Games
rather than just watching it all on television.
Richard Budgett is the Chief Medical
Officer London 2012 and he talked to Alison
Sanders (SpR Emergency Medicine/HEMS
and Sydney Olympics 2000).
What is your role?
RB: The Chief Medical Officer is responsible for medical services. The IOC
(International Olympic Committee) considers medical services as both health care
and anti-doping. Health care includes care
for all athletes, their support staff, the
IOC and other staff who are the so-called
‘‘Olympic family’’. It also covers all
members of the public while within
ticketed areas. We also have to ensure
that public health measures are in place
within the village and venues.
At this stage the Chief Medical Officer
is very part time and not involved in
detailed planning but overviews strategy
and liaises with stakeholders. There is a
medical manager and an anti-doping
manager who are putting together a
detailed plan with timelines and budgets.
I see the Chief Medical Officer as primarily responsible for protecting the health of
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the athlete and ensuring there is a level
playing field (anti-doping) at Game times.
The Chief Medical Officer is the channel
for all information to and from the IOC
on health services and anti-doping.
How will the services be organised?
RB: There is a polyclinic in the main
Olympic village (and smaller ones in the
other two Olympic villages) which is
similar to a small hospital. There is a
24 hour emergency service and 70% of
health care is delivered through the
polyclinic. The polyclinic provides primary care, sports and exercise medicine,
physiotherapy, emergency services (a
small A&E), ophthalmology, dental services, imaging, pharmacy, podiatry and
other medical specialities. The medical
services at venues depend on the need for
the field of play. There will be paramedics
with a combination of sports and exercise
medicine doctors and emergency medicine
doctors. The level of emergency cover will
depend on the risk of the event. For
instance, it may be appropriate to have an
HEMS standard land-based team at the
equestrian and the BMX events. Spectator
care will follow the green guide as a
minimum and a large number of other
doctors will be needed.
Is there any guidance on numbers of
patients likely to be seen?
RB: There were just over 10 000 medical
encounters in Athens; 7000 of these were
at the polyclinic and 3000 were at venues
(both competition and training venues).
Just fewer than half the medical problems
were musculoskeletal and approximately
half the patients were athletes, the rest
being made up of support staff, Olympic
family and spectators.
What kind of medical problems/conditions
are you anticipating?
RB: The acute orthopaedic injuries will be
related to the sport and event. Overuse
injuries will be even more specific.
Thereafter, musculoskeletal and physiotherapy services, dental and ophthalmology services are the busiest in the
polyclinic.
Will lots of visitors come to emergency
departments?
RB: Statistics from previous large events
show that the use of emergency medicine
departments is usually less during the
event. This is probably due to the services
provided on site. Spectators will be triaged
and dealt with by the venue medical
teams so that the burden on any department is unlikely to be significant.
Will there be any jobs for emergency
medicine doctors?
RB: In April 2009 we will appoint a
medical volunteer coordinator. There will
be opportunities to volunteer for all
specialities but emergency medicine doctors will be in demand both to man the
polyclinic and appropriate venues.
Doctors will be at an advantage if they
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have experience of sport and working on
the field of play or of spectator care at
major events.
What type of doctors will treat the
athletes and what qualifications will they
need?
RB: Many athletes will be treated by
their own medical support team of
doctor and physiotherapist. Smaller
national Olympic committees without a
team doctor will rely on the polyclinic,
particularly accessing primary care, sports
and exercise medicine and physiotherapy.
In the vast majority of events, team
medical staff are not permitted in the
field of play at the Olympics so, in the
event of an accident on the field of play, it
will be the team of medical staff at the
venue (paramedics, SEM/EM doctors)
who will deal with the injury.
There will be a total of 3000 volunteers
and the exact distribution is not yet
decided. If you are interested in being
involved then you can put your name
down as a volunteer on the website, but
opportunities will be advertised next year
and it is not necessary to register or take
any action now.
Alison Sanders
SpR HEMS, Royal London Hospital, London, UK
Consultant appointments March 2008
The information for the consultant appointments is provided by the College and any errors should be notified to them and not the journal
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