Locum Emergency Medicine consultant Dr Leia Kane will be part of a crack team of medics on stand-by to deal with any mishaps involving the 400,000 plus visitors attending this summer's Tall Ships Races Aberdeen.
On top of her day job with NHS Grampian and undertaking a PhD at the University looking at stress and recovery in doctors, Leia works with Enhanced Care Services, a leading provider of event medical services which provides medical and first aid staff at a wide range of events across the UK.
She will be part of the team manning a quayside field hospital during the Tall Ships, offering on-site medical assistance for everything from cuts and blisters through to resuscitation and critical care.
“We’ve provided support at all sorts of events, from Wimbledon to the Hackney Half Marathon,” explained Leia. “The team includes senior doctors, emergency medicine nurses, paramedics and many other health care professionals from all over the country – people who offer the skills they have in their day jobs to help at big public events.
“We only work together like this for maybe half a dozen days across the year but everyone is a specialist in what they do and, once we’re on an event site together, the professional bonds kick in and we’re absolutely ready for anything.”
With more than 400,000 visitors expected to attend the events across its duration, organisers are expecting an additional requirement for medical care across the local population and are prepped to deal with all eventualities.
“Different events come with different requirements but we are equipped to deal with almost anything,” added Leia. “The Half Marathon saw us dealing with a lot of people who were struggling with the warm weather, they were over-heating and collapsing.
“Ironman Wales in comparison was totally different, with lots of people in the water or experiencing bike crashes. From a professional perspective, it’s an opportunity to test out different skills while remaining on alert to deal with the unexpected.
“Should we need to, we also have dedicated pathways to get people to the right place within the NHS Grampian system without delay.”
While technically on duty, Leia and her teammates still hope to be able to enjoy being part of the once in a generation event for the city: “The Tall Ships is an incredible event and I can't wait to be part of it. The buzz of all these people coming to Aberdeen just to have a really good time is fantastic. There'll be so much going on and we'll be there for the full four days so I’m looking forward to soaking up the atmosphere.”