PHYSIOTHERAPY PROVISION PHYSIOTHERAPY PROVISION

access to either the Olympic village or the venues. There were three sets of uniforms and free meals when on duty. The down- side was that all volunteers had to pay for their own flights and arrange their own accommodation. Flights were easy com- pared to the accommodation problem. By European standards Athens is not a huge city and the limited hotel space had been snapped up by IOC members, dignitaries, and members of the press. Other available hotels were over-priced as the ‘Olympic cash-cow’ came to town. I had to call in several favours from old friends in Athens who had studied in England and by displaying their excellent Greek hospitali- ty they didn’t let me down. Other physio- therapists actually had relatives in Athens and they too generously helped in finding places to stay. I don’t think the final option of sharing a tent in the official Olympic camp site was ever used!

in the EU, British physiotherapists are insured to treat any nationality in the UK, but only British citizens in Greece. So it became obvious that some form of special insurance cover would have to be arranged for British physiotherapists for the duration of the Games so that they would be able to treat athletes from the numerous countries wanting physiothera- py in the Polyclinic. There was much discussion and consultation with the CSP about this important issue and not incon- siderable angst and worry, despite ATHOC’s soothing assurances via phone and emails that everything would be in order. Insurance was eventually procured at a very late stage through a certificate of insurance issued by ATHOC. This gave a licence to practice to British physiothera- pists for the duration of and in the context of the Athens Games.

The physiotherapists were registered by ATHOC on the understanding that they would be given an accreditation pass which allowed free transport for the dura- tion of the Games on the much improved Athens metro and bus links and, of course,

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The purpose of the Polyclinic in the Olympic village, and of having a medical centre at each of the venues, is to provide a full medical service including physio- therapy, medicine, dentistry, podiatry and ophthalmology to all athletes, but partic- ularly those athletes from countries that have too little money or resources to bring their own medical team. I had, along with Lynn Booth (team GB head physiothera- pist), to organise a replica system at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester and so I was intrigued to see at first hand how this would be managed in an opera- tion as large as the Olympics. It would also give some indication of the skills, facilities and logistics needed by those putting together the medical services for the London 2012 bid. As a result of my experience at Manchester 2002, I now understood some of the problems and frustrations of the organising committee. For example, promises made months and even years before are not fulfilled, money needed to provide the best possible care is not released or changes are made in organisation and management (in Greece’s case often in the full glare of the world’s press). I felt that ATHOC also had the added distraction of expectant failure, the terrorist threat and pressure from the IOC with the result that the arrangements for

physiotherapy was just simply lower down the agenda on some days.

Once in Athens, most of the fears, worries and trepidations soon evaporated as it became apparent that the medical ser- vices and facilities were of a very high standard indeed. It was also most satisfy- ing to see a number of British physiother- apists working in the heart of the Olympic village and at Olympic venues after months of corresponding only by email and phone calls. Everyone seemed buoy- ant that they were contributing to the biggest sporting event in the world and in glorious weather to boot!

The Polyclinic itself was large, spacious and air-conditioned. It had all the usual electrotherapy equipment as well as whirlpools, ice baths and a rehabilitation gym.

Unfortunately, the rooms where the doctors worked and those where the physiotherapists worked were separated by a large wall. Not the sort of inter- professional liaison environment I had come to expect from my time with team GB.

There were also some unusual administra- tive procedures that initially proved diffi- cult to comprehend. The main problem for visiting physiotherapists and athletes was that it is against the law in Greece to see a physiotherapist without a doctor’s refer- ral. Consequently, unlike other Games I had been to, all athletes had to see a doc- tor (working next door of course) to get the required piece of paper in order to be seen by a physiotherapist. As the athletes were not fully examined by the referring doctor, they then required a further phys- iotherapy examination. The athletes were never assessed by both doctor and phys- iotherapist at the same time. There were several complaints from athletes and coaches about this arrangement, but they settled down after an explanation that when in Athens, you do like Athenians!

Almost all Greek physiotherapists are able to understand English well. Not only is it part of their primary schooling but

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