Bay Dreams: Health services onsite and prepared
There will be on-site medical services again at the 2021 Bay Dreams music festival being held in Nelson on 5 January at Rutherford Park.
Nelson Marlborough Health (MMH) Emergency Manager Pete Kara says the medical team have been able to build on
the experience gained from the previous two years’ events.
“We will monitor the impact the influx of thousands of festival goers has on the flow of patients to the Medical and
Injury Centre during the week of the Bay Dreams event. That way we can respond to any trends developing and
assess if extra staff need to be rostered on.”
NMH has again assembled a collaborative Nelson Bays Primary Health and Urban Search and Rescue medical team to
work alongside St John staff at Bay Dreams 2021 to prevent the number of people being transported to Nelson
Hospital.
“We will have two air shelters set up, staffed with medical personnel, and as well as keeping festival goers safe, our
aim is to reduce the potential impact on Nelson Hospital’s Emergency Department and the Medical and Injury
Centre.”
In previous years several hundred people at the event have been triaged and treated by ambulance staff on-site, or
given medical support from a nursing team or basic first aid by Red Cross volunteers.
Anyone planning to attend the festival who feels unwell or has COVID-19 symptoms is asked to stay home.
Festival goers are also encouraged to turn on the Bluetooth ability for the COVID-19 tracer app to enable alerts to be
sent automatically to those who are close contacts, which will speed up contact tracing and isolation. There will also
be COVID-19 testing service available onsite.
Restrictions have again been placed on the event’s alcohol licence relating to food, the types of alcohol sold and the
length of time that alcohol is for sale. The Council as landowner has restricted all alcohol sales to be no more than
five per cent in strength.
All alcohol and drug-related presentations to ED from Bay Dreams will be referred to Nelson Bays Primary Health
Organisation’s alcohol and drug service for follow up.
At the 2020 Bay Dreams event:
- 17,500 people attended the festival
- on-site medical teams helped 502 people
- 27 people were cared for in the tent
- 2 people were sent to hospital
- there 52 presentations to ED during the Bay Dreams period.