Ever since South Africa was named as the host nation for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, behind-the-scenes preparations in all spheres have been underway. One of the most important of which has been the enhancement of emergency procedures in case of a major medical incident.

FIFA lays down very strict guidelines stipulating that the host country integrate an internationally recognised Major Incident Medical Management Scheme (MIMMS) in its plans. Although control of this programme falls under the auspices of the government’s National Disaster Management Centre in Pretoria, the planning and preparation in this case is a shining example of public/private sector collaboration. One in which private healthcare group, Medi-Clinic, plays a crucial role on a number of fronts.

Planning and preparation began in 2007 when the National Health Technical Task Team, on which Medi-Clinic served, together with other public and private stakeholders, identified a number of appropriately positioned hospitals close to the stadiums to act as FIFA-designated medical facilities. Nine of these are Medi-Clinic hospitals. In addition, Wits Donald Gordon Medical Centre was accredited as the first FIFA Centre of Excellence on the African continent, based on the appropriate availability of specialised services.

In terms of internal preparation, Medi-Clinic has identified and prepared 14 of its hospitals to serve as major incident receiving centres, due to their proximity to the stadiums and the international teams’ training facilities. Once again Medi-Clinic has been proactive in delivering innovative medical solutions. The private hospital group has adapted its custom designed patient tracking system to capture information related to major incidents, in this case related to the World Cup. This involves capturing the patient’s data on an electronic patient record template to allow for rapid review and reporting on trends, as well as potential threats to community health issues, such as the detection of food poisoning outbreaks or episodic H1N1 occurrences. The centres will use the tracking system and other management systems such as staff allocation strategies and logistics planning to cope with any potential emergency.

Medi-Clinic hospitals countrywide are committed to a programme of training and preparation. This includes rolling out of MIMMS and hMIMMS (Hospital Major Incident Medical Management Support) training in conjunction with all stakeholders – private and public.

The courses were arranged by multi-representational teams in all provinces and deal with the preparation of emergency services and facilities for incidents of any sort.  To date 12 hMIMMS course have been run regionally with a strong Medi-Clinic hospital staff representation at each. Given the nature of the tournament and the fact that many fans will be travelling in more remote parts of the country, major incident committees have been set up at all Medi-Clinic hospitals to promote internal training and to prepare the hospitals for the physical and operational rigours of soccer-related emergencies.

Medi-Clinic believes that the level of cooperation between all stakeholders in the healthcare sector has created a benchmark in emergency procedures that will stand the country in good stead well beyond 2010.