Preventative planning in place for Bay Dreams 2020
On-site medical services will again be provided at the 2020 Bay Dreams music festival being held in Nelson on 4 January at Trafalgar Park.
Nelson Marlborough Health Emergency Manager Pete Kara says the detailed preventative planning and collaboration between the event organisers, Nelson Bays Primary Health, Public Health, Red Cross and St John staff was integral to the success of last year’s festival.
After analysing the potential for harm and adverse effects on Nelson Hospital’s ED and the Medical and Injury Centre, NMH formally requested that the event organisers contract St John to provide on-site medical services for the 2019 event.
“We are taking the same stance this year, with the aim of preventing the number people being transported to the Emergency Department at Nelson Hospital,” Pete says.
“We will have two air shelters set up, staffed with medical personnel from Nelson Bays Primary Health, Red Cross and Urban Search and Rescue working alongside St John staff.”
In response to last year’s event the medical team have requested more shade areas, greater access to water and a safe area to be created for single females.
“There were no sexual assaults reported from the event last year and we want to maintain that record,” says Pete.
He says the team will also monitor the impact the influx of 20,000 festival goers to the region has on the Medical and Injury Centre during the week of the Bay Dreams event.
“We will monitor the flow of patients to the centre and will respond to any trends developing and assess if extra staff need to be rostered on.”
A weather station on loan from Newcastle University will help to monitor temperatures at the event. If temperatures are high the medical teams will be able to identify how long people can do an activity in a crowd, make some predictions on when they are likely to see causalities, and be prepared.
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.
Nelson Marlborough Health is joining with the event organisers, police, fire, ambulance, and other agencies in some incident training prior to the festival.
At the 2019 Bay Dreams event:
• 420 people were triaged and treated by ambulance staff on-site
• 80 people were given additional medical support from the nursing team
• 100 people were given basic first aid by Red Cross volunteers
• An estimated 40 presentations to either Nelson Hospital’s ED or the Medical and Injury Centre were avoided.
