The events industry has had a challenging year due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Things are looking much better for the remainder of 2021 as restrictions are scheduled to be relaxed and events are due to be given the green light to go ahead.

Whilst events probably aren’t going to look exactly the same as they did in 2019 it is good news for large festival organisers. SAG meetings are likely to expect a significant consideration still to ensuing the event is ‘Covid Secure’ and a well aligned medical provider, particular one who also works with the NHS providing 999 services should be able to provide all the necessary advice and support to assist organisers in achieving this.

It is more than likely the government will shortly release more guidelines for outdoor or large crowd event organisers and we will share information with all customers as it is issued.

The last 12 months have been extremely challenging for many businesses. Sadly some will not survive and as much as this may be the case of some festivals no longer operating, it has also affected event medical providers. Many of those that only provide event first aid have been out of work, however, larger providers that are regulated by the Care Quality Commission are able to provide services to hospitals and the emergency services. We have also noticed that the restrictions for the summer have meant many events have been moved from earlier in the summer to August and September. It is without a doubt that this is going to place a lot of extra pressure on event medical providers to have capacity for all the events. As such, MET Medical is already reaching full capacity for some weekends in September. The message here really is that time is of the essence for booking festival or event medical cover.

Will medical cover be more expensive? It is without a doubt that the costs of delivering event medical cover will rise. Whether providers stomach the cost of this or pass it on to clients will depend on each individual provider. Certainly all staff should be wearing an appropriate level of PPE. This means level 2 PPE for general work but level 3 must be available in case Aerosol Generating Procedures are taking place and both of these are costly. It is also likely that a capacity issue naturally causes some increases in cost.

If you would like to discuss your event or get advice please get in touch with our bookings team on 0203 627 9042 and they will arrange for a call back from a registered health care professional.