KNOW YOUR OWN ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES AND THE LAWS OF THE SPORT

Management of the Field of Play (IMMOFP) n RFU’s (Rugby Football Union’s) Pitch- Side Immediate Trauma Care Course (PSITCC) n SRU’s (Scottish Rugby Union’s) Scrumcaps course n Association of Chartered Physiotherapists in Sports Medicine (ACPSM) courses n REMO courses. Others are advanced, but generic,

such as Corobeus’s Advanced Sports Trauma course EMMiITS and REMO courses. Those at an intermediate level, for people working in semi-professional or amateur sports, include the Emergency Medical First Aid in Sport (EMFAiS), again run by Corobeus. Basic first aid is not enough for the

duties you will be required to perform, but you must choose your courses wisely. Assess their fundamental differences, such as the background of their instructors, and draw on their experiences to ensure you cover yourself for the requirements of your particular sports. This decision may be taken for you because some NGBs, like the RFL, RFU and British Horseracing Authority (BHA), will specify what training they want you take at the elite level.

Pre-hospital care is not the only additional qualification you will need to be qualified in. Remember sports medicine is a speciality in its own right, so a qualification in medicine or physiotherapy or some other allied to medical qualification is not enough. You are required to go beyond this to work in sport, just as you would in order to attain a senior post in any hospital, primary care trust, or private institution. Relevant CPD is always required. Depending on the post you are after, this may entail getting a diploma or MSc in sports medicine or some CPD directly related to your sport. You should liaise with your own sporting body about the best qualifications for succeeding in your field. Thankfully the incidence of severe

or catastrophic injury and illness in the athletic population is low. However,

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TEST YOUR LEARNING

when these events do occur on the pitch-side, the SEM-HCP – who is often a physiotherapist with very little emergency experience – will still be expected to respond quickly and appropriately, often in a very stressful, pressurised environment. The purpose of this article is to show that failing to prepare and “risk assess” for these eventualities not only has medical implications for those who are injured, but also has legal and professional ramifications for those delivering healthcare.

Think again about the life- threatening and potentially serious injuries that can occur in your sport, in addition to what has come in this discussion. What procedures do you have in place, if any at all, for concussion or commotio cordis? These two topics will be discussed further in Parts II and III of this article.

SUMMARY

The aim of this series of articles is to raise awareness about what working in sport really means. It should not discourage you from working within sport, rather it will help make sure you are ready, so that when you do accept one of these roles you will understand what you are accepting, and know whether your are prepared for it and it all it entails, from getting the right sort of specialist education, at the right level to delivering medical treatment, early

n What is your duty of care? n What is your actual role and responsibility within the sporting environment?

n Can you complete a risk assessment for your role?

THE AUTHOR

Dr Lisa Hodgson PhD MSc MCSP is the managing director of Corobeus Sports Consultancy (CSC) Ltd, a company dedicated to providing NGBs and teams with gold standard sports medicine solutions, focusing on standards, protocols, procedures and training, to ensure that sports medicine provision is champion class. Lisa is also a university teacher on the MSc Sports and Exercise Medicine course at Nottingham University and an elite athlete screening consultant to Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY). Lisa was the first head of sports medicine for the RFL (2000–09) and currently maintains a consultancy with them. Lisa developed the first intra-sport advanced field of play emergency course approved by the IMMOFP (Immediate Medical Management on the Field of Play and the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh) and more recently has developed two generic advanced and intermediate sports medical management courses aimed at healthcare practitioners working within multi-sport (the EMMiITS and EMFAiS). The former is approved by the ACPSM at gold standard and currently being considered for approval by the College of Emergency Medicine.

sportEX medicine 2010;46(Oct):17-22

and correctly, to return the athletes in your care back to their sport quickly. Preventing injury and illness is always better than the cure, so always be prepared for anything you may reasonably expect to encounter. That way, you will not go far wrong.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thanks to Lynn Booth for asking me to write such a piece and Mr Tony Bennison of ABC First Aid Ltd for his unconditional support, wisdom and enthusiasm for pre-hospital trauma management and its idiosyncrasies.

References 1. Department of Culture and Media in Sport. Guide to safety sports grounds. 2001 ISBN 011-3000952 2. British Columbia Laws. Good Samaritan. [RSBC 1996] CHAPTER 172. http://bit.ly/934bPP 3. Bolitho vs City Hackney Health Authority [1997] 4 All ER 771. http://bit.ly/ckLh8B 4. Resuscitation Council UK. The legal status of those who attempt resuscitation. http://bit.ly/d2V4N0 5. Williams K. Medical Samaritans: Is there a duty to treat? Oxford J Legal Studies 2001;21:3:393–413 6. Booth R. Who regulates the sports regulators? One Crown Office Row. http://bit.ly/dkMorU 7. Hanson J. Sports pre-hospital immediate care courses in the United Kingdom – attempting to “treat” sudden cardiac death. Scottish Medical Journal 2010;55(2):35.

OTHER WEB RESOURCES For more on: The Bolam test, see en.wikipedia.rg/wiki/Bolam_Test Keeping medical records, see www. enotes.com/everyday-law-encyclopedia Courses from the ACPSM, see www.acpsm.org/courses.asp REMO courses, see www.remosports.com/remo-courses