Awareness and First Aid

ER24’s events team ensures the health and safety of our clients, no matter the size of the event or the terrain. ER24 National Events Manager André Bronkhorst explains more.

From large-scale corporate gatherings to smaller outdoor celebrations, ER24 provides top-notch medical care and compliance services to ensure events run smoothly and safely. Whether it’s a sports match, concert, festival or gathering, ER24’s dedicated team of professionals is ready to step in and take care of all the emergency medical requirements, says ER24 National Events Manager André Bronkhorst.

As part of his role, Bronkhorst collaborates with event organisers and ER24’s specialised medical services co-ordinators to assess the medical needs of the event and develop medical support plans. “I also review and check the quality of operational plans, suggest changes and point out missed or overlooked aspects,” he adds.

ER24 Events’ medical services

Sports events form the bulk of ER24 events services’ work. ER24 provides medical services for events such as triathlons, marathons, cycling races, and rugby and soccer matches. “ER24 is the preferred service provider for the Blue Bulls, Sharks, Cheetahs and Stormers rugby,” says Bronkhorst, “We also provide our services to Craven Week Rugby and the South African Rugby Union (SARU)”.

Another part of the ER24 events services’ work is providing medical services to corporate events, music festivals, concerts, public gatherings, and acting as medical escorts to national and international VIP guests.

Training for ER24’s events team

Bronkhorst says ER24 provides opportunities for staff to augment their qualifications with other skillsets related to the events environment. These include offroad driver training and emergency medical support in hostile environments (EMSHE) training. ER24 also provides constant professional development to keep events medics updated on the latest emergency medical practices.

When selecting staff for specific outdoor events, Bronkhorst uses those with expertise in that type of event. For example, medics with wilderness experience will be assigned to outdoor events, and those with 4X4 driving experience will be assigned to off-road events. For rugby matches, he ensures that the selected staff have completed BokSmart training in rugby-related concussion, neck and spine injuries, while motorsports staff must be accredited by Motorsport South Africa (MSA).

All medics must meet the South African National Standards (SANS) requirements.

ER24 events planning: key factors

  • Hospitals – their proximity and what resources they have.
  • Communication – between team members, the team and other resources.
  • Outside resources – SAPS, fire stations and others.
  • Key risk factors – identify risks specific to the event.
  • Equipment – choose the best equipment for the event based on possible medical emergencies.
  • Mapping – consider the event layout, plan where the medical team will be positioned, as well as routes for hard-to-each areas.
  • Contingency plans – devise back-up plans in case a particular plan doesn’t work in situ.

Medical emergencies at events 

Bronkhorst says the most common conditions and situations ER24’s event medics encounter are due to spectator intoxication, group behaviour, and weather conditions. These may lead to:

  • Dehydration
  • Heat exhaustion or heatstroke
  • Hypothermia
  • Minor cuts and bruises
  • Sprains and strains
  • Allergic reactions
  • Asthma or other respiratory issues
  • Cardiac events (heart attacks, palpitations)
  • Hypoglycaemia or hyperglycaemia in diabetic patients
  • Seizures or epilepsy-related incidents
  • Drug or alcohol intoxication
  • Anaphylaxis
  • Syncope (fainting)
  • Burns
  • Fractures or dislocations
  • Panic attacks/anxiety episodes
  • Overexertion/fatigue.

Although the ER24 events team is equipped to deal with any medical situation, in an emergency the team must get to the scene fast. That’s why it’s crucial that event organisers or onlookers call for help immediately if they come across a medical emergency, says Bronkhorst. “There should be emergency contact details throughout the venue for you to notify the ER24 events medical team,” he cautions. “In the case of cardiac arrest, start CPR fast.”

For large scale events, a venue operations centre (VOC) is established which co-ordinates and controls all aspects of the event including emergency response. A designated emergency number linked to the VOC is used in such cases. For smaller scale events, call the ER24 Contact Centre on 084 124 in any medical emergency. A highly trained ER24 Emergency Resource Officer (ERO) will answer your call and notify the ER24 events team.