A medical team is gearing up as Bahrain gets ready to host the 2020 Formula One Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix.
The 180-member team will undergo regular evaluations from Wednesday (Mar 4) until the highly-anticipated race which takes place from March 19 to 22 at the Bahrain International Circuit (BIC), Sakhir.
The final assessment will be done by the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile, the motorsport’s governing body on March 19, Bahrain Motor Federation (BMF) chief medical officer Dr Amjad Obeid told the GDN.
The team includes anaesthetists, plastic surgeons, vascular and neuro surgeons, emergency physicians, nurses, radiographer and pharmacists as well as 11 ambulances and other necessary medical equipment.
“The Formula One medical team under the federation and in co-operation with the Health Ministry will have 180 members this year,” said Dr Obeid.
“There will be 11 ambulances on the track, covering the main centre as well as the spectators’ tents.
“The medical team will be divided as the ambulances, three extrication teams – each with six paramedics and one doctor, five interventional medical vehicles – with one doctor, one paramedic and a driver.
“The ministry’s extrication team and BMF started preparations with at least twice-a-week training from the F1 chalet at the BIC to prepare for the big event.”
The medical center will be equipped with around 35 members which will include consultants of different specialties including surgeons, anaesthetists, plastic surgeons, vascular and neuro surgeons all headed by emergency physicians.
There will also be six emergency qualified nurses, a radiographer and pharmacists on the team.
“The medical centre will be fully operational from March 19 and overall arrangements will be on check from March 4, all the way up to the race dates, to make sure they are ready, be it a minor injury, while the teams are setting up their garages and cars,” said Dr Obeid.
“The team will be evaluated by FIA medical delegates on March 19, where they will be fully tested on medical skills as well as that of the intervention of the team with accidents and how they would handle it.
“On the same day at 3pm there will an official medical test conducted by FIA delegates and an FIA rescue official who will conduct an extrication test.
“It aims at testing the capabilities of the team to extract a driver with minimal movement and time from any injuries or accidents.”
The team members are mainly from Bahrain’s two public hospitals – the BDF Hospital and Salmaniya Medical Complex (SMC), while the air ambulance is from the Bahrain Royal Air Force (RAF).
“The main hospitals on standby are the BDF Hospital and the SMC, and the teams will be ready to accept any person or injured driver by air medical evacuation or ground ambulances,” added Dr Obeid.
“As part of FIA regulations it is mandatory to have a medical evacuation helicopter, which as always will be supplied by the Bahrain RAF with the needed crew from the BDF Hospital.
“The operations are, as always, a joint collaboration of the BMF, BIC, Health Ministry and the BDF.
“During the race, the medial center will be functional 24 hours a day, with a doctor and an ambulance at the scene.”
As regards coronavirus (Covid-19), Dr Obeid said the team will follow Health Ministry guidelines on this.
“We are working closely with the ministry on the guidelines that are to be followed,” he said.
