The Things you don’t know about Dehydration.

A Medix perspective

For me – discussions over dehydration have always conjured up pictures of Bear Grylles with a cup of his favorite yellow morning brew – something I am sure we would all like to avoid. As a Medic, next to Cardiac related – dehydration is the biggest serious medical complaint athletes present with over the finish line. Although many articles cover this topic to nauseam we would like to share with you, a more physiological perspective.

Read more “The Things you don’t know about Dehydration.”

For the Organizers

Almost all events that take place in the public or that allow public participation require some form of sign-off and permit. Typically this is obtained from the municipality or fire department where your event will be held and may require inspections, response plans and various contingencies to ensure the event is run in a safe & healthy manner.

In terms of the medical support – there are several considerations:

  • The Mass Gathering Act – dealing with safety for large volumes of public gathered persons.
  • Sports Act – dealing with what needs to be in place when offering sporting events.
  • Medical Service Provider must be registered within province.

What we do assist you in this process:

1. Risk Assessments:

To determine the amount of resources & skills required for your event – we begin with a self audit “Risk Assessment” that provides a score. Based on this, the score indicates a minimum medical requirement. (based on Mass Gathering Act, Sports Act & Disaster management). If your event has > 1000PAX, you will need to apply for permissions from your local DOH. FMX can complete this on your behalf, as we are well aware of the legal requirements…


2. The Paper Work:

ON acceptance of our quote – we provide you with a “Service Provider Letter” that you can use for municipal sign-off. We further provide all the needed certificates, insurances and license of the medics and our company. Remember, it is a legal requirement for your medical service provider, to be registered and licensed as an ‘Ambulance Service‘ or ‘Events Medical‘ company. Be sure to ask for this before committing to the quote. Failure to do so, can place your event and its organizers at risk if someone were to get injured or die. Medical Mal-Practise and liability insurance are also of great importance and should be asked for.


3. Medical Operations Plan

This is the blue-print from which we work. A document contain emergency numbers, roles & responsibilities, various contingencies as well as GPS way points, maps & exits. We distribute this to all the role players, so that we are all on the same page. A MOP is often required as part of your event application and ensures your medical service provider will deliver the services promised. This would include:

  • Medical Waste Management.
  • Dealing with exceptional circumstances (death, disaster).
  • Mass Casualty & Disaster management.
  • Incl: Risk Matrix

3. QUALIFIED Medical Staff

  • Medics / Doctors must be registered with the HPCSA.
  • A PDP (public driving permit) will be required when transporting persons in an ambulance or medical vehicle.
  • Not all medics have the same qualification and have different levels of care to support patients:
    • Adv Life Support (ALS) – Paramedic
    • Intermediate Life Support (ILS) – Senior Ambulance Medic
    • Basic Life Support (BLS) – Basic Ambulance Medic (supervised)
  • Depending on the risk of the event – either BLS/ILS/ALS/Doc may be recommended. Example: An ALS can administer pain medications – essential to moving of patients with broken bones. ILS can administer IV fluids and treat dehydration, nebulize and admin Dextrose for low blood sugar levels.
  • Be sure to ask for each medics HPCSA, PDP documents – to be added to your events file.

As a dedicated events medical provider – we assist organizers in ensuring compliancy, adequate medical cover and help mitigate risk, by having the right procedures, insurances and licenses in place.