12 Aug 2010
Examining the curves and bends of the Marina Bay embankment and diagnosing its sandy soil does not sound like the job description of a surgeon and a health ministry officer.
But this is all part of the medical preparations for the first Youth Olympic Games (YOG) which will kick off in two days.
The YOG medical services committee, helmed by Professor Tay Boon Keng and Mr Wong Yoong Cheong, began its preparations two years ago, even while the planning for the 2009 Asian Youth Games here – which they were also involved in – was ongoing.
The committee has been working very closely with the International Olympic Council medical commission to ensure the Olympic Council’s requirements are fulfilled.
Prof Tay, who is also the YOG chief medical officer, is an emeritus consultant orthopaedic surgeon at Singapore General Hospital and Mr Wong is the director of the emergency preparedness and response division at the Ministry of Health (MOH).
Said Mr Wong: “Two factors are key to our success: having sufficient medical resources and ensuring that evacuation routes for medical rescue at all venues are optimal.
“Field work is crucial as a plan on paper may turn out differently on the ground.” That is why both chairmen personally spent hours over the past three weeks checking sports venues, such as the triathlon route along East Coast Expressway, to examine the medical evacuation routes.
For instance at Marina Bay, they found that the jetty platform to be used to receive injured athletes from rescue boats may not be large enough.
To make it easier for medical personnel to move athletes from rescue boats onto the jetty, they asked for the platform to be enlarged.
“We also checked that the evacuation routes would not be hindered by obstacles like spectator boxes, and that ambulances would be parked on solid ground and not on sinking mud,” added Prof Tay.
Supporting these efforts are medical resources in the form of 2,600 medical personnel, who will be on hand to tend to the needs of more than 5,000 teen athletes and officials.
They include psychologists who will run counselling clinics, a first for a sports event here.
Prof Tay explained that the young athletes, aged between 14 and 18, may be more vulnerable to mental stress associated with intense competition.
Some may also find themselves grappling with boy-girl relationships as sparks may fly when they meet fellow athletes from other countries.
During the 13-day event, a 600-plus health-care team, including 55 doctors, will be deployed per day. Team members will be based either in the YOG Village at Nanyang Technological University or at the 31 sports venues across the country.
Some team members have had prior experience in big sporting events like the Formula One Grand Prix here.
One of them is sports physician Roger Tian, who was based at the Asian Youth Games Village at Swissotel The Stamford last year.
He said that while nothing spectacular occurred, the experience of putting in long hours and even overnight duties was a good training opportunity for the medical contingent, many of whom are joining forces again for the upcoming games.
Dr Tian is an associate sports physician with the Changi Sports Medicine Centre and the Singapore Sports Medicine Centre.
Psychologists from the Institute of Mental Health will also be stationed at the games village. Two will be on duty on any one shift.
The committee recently concluded two venue exercises and an operation drill.
Venue exercises are dry runs at sports venues, where medical teams try out treatment and evacuation procedures. There will be at least one team – each comprising one doctor, two nurses and other health-care personnel – present at every event.
An operations drill was carried out at the operations centre at MOH. The operations centre is the nerve centre that coordinates the logistics, deployment of personnel and evacuation procedures.
During the drill, officers practised communication workflows, such as whom to notify when an injury occurs.
Given the unprecedented scale of the event, Mr Wong said a key challenge is not to compromise health-care services for the public.
“Unlike China, which hosted the 2008 Olympic Games, we do not have thousands of doctors at our disposal,” he said. “We have to ensure that regular health-care services are not disrupted.”
To ensure this, the committee roped in private hospitals to share the load. In the event of injuries to athletes in high-risk sports such as BMX bike racing, restructured hospitals like National University Hospital have been earmarked as they cover a wider range of medical specialities.
Coordination between the local medical team and the estimated 200 foreign medical personnel expected to arrive with the athletes is yet another challenge.
“Athletes, their coaches, parents, trainers and personal doctors – all of them will want to have a say,” said Dr Tian, who is heading the sports medicine team from Changi General Hospital that will be based at the YOG Village.
“We have to get them on the same page and ultimately work out what’s best for the athletes,” he added.
Otherwise, the medical team is all set for anything that may come its way, even for chance situations like a lightning strike.
If that happens, Dr Benedict Tan, a board member of the Singapore Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee, said there is a protocol on where to evacuate the athletes, which hospital to send the injured to and who is to inform the next-of-kin.
Prof Tay is confident that the team is “100 per cent ready for the games”.
“It’s best that no one gets injured and we are not called upon, but if anyone needs us, we’ll be there,” he added.
Medical resources People
A total of 2,600 health-care personnel will care for over 5,000 athletes and officials.
More than 600 personnel will be deployed per day, comprising:
55 doctors
100 nurses
80 paramedics
160 paramedic assistants
90 first-aid officers
130 stretcher-bearers
52 ambulance crews
Equipment at venues
200 sets of medical supplies (including minor surgical equipment, for instance, to perform stitching of open wounds; commonly used emergency drugs to reduce pain, swelling and inflammation; bandages; and ice packs for pain relief)
100 stretchers
70 automated external defibrillators
50 wheelchairs
40 cot beds (These are placed in medical rooms at venues for doctors to further examine athletes to evaluate the extent of their injuries so as to decide if an athlete needs to be sent to a hospital)
(Information from the Singapore Youth Olympic Games Medical Services Committee)
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