F1 Medical Car. Copyright Chocolate Disco on Flickr

In the 'Mind Your Body' section for The Straits Times on 28th August, June Cheong wrote an article about the Singapore F1 medical team as follows:

Behind the boisterous buzz and high-octane action of Formula One racing will be another frontline - that of doctors and nurses. 

More than 200 medical personnel from the private sector, National Healthcare Group and SingHealth will be on standby at the SingTel Singapore Grand Prix next month.

The medical team will be split into two - one to look after the race track participants and the other to take care of spectators.

The former will comprise 100 medical personnel like doctors and nurses, while the latter will comprise between 100 and 150 first-aid personnels, doctors and nurses.

Doctors in the former group will be mainly specialists in the field of emergency medicine, trauma surgeons, anesthetists and orthopedic surgeons.

Dr Kelvin Chew, deputy chief medical officer at the Grand Prix, said: "Given the high speed nature of F1 racing and the presence of tens of thousands of spectators, we have to prepare for medical situations both on and off the track.

Scenarios range from major incidents to relatively minor ones such as a cut or an ankle sprain sustained by a spectator."

The medical team has undergone six extrication exercises and, in case of a crash, can extract a driver from a car in 1 min 29 sec.

Having undergone a training program designed by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, which is the governing body for world motor sport, both teams were certified in March.

To ensure that help arrives swiftly in the event of accidents or injuries, the medical centre within the F1 venue will be supported by six fast intervention vehicles, two medical extrication vehicles, nine track ambulances and seven track medical posts.

Singapore General Hospital has also been designated as the main hospital receiving patients from the F1 event as it has a full-fledged emergency service and the country's only dedicated burns facility, said Dr Jeremy Lim, director of the Centre for Health Services Research at SingHealth. 

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Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved.

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