Medics on standby: inside the makeshift Grand Prix hospital
Medics on standby: inside the makeshift Grand Prix hospital
The Canadian Grand Prix is an exciting and glamorous affair -- but it can also be a dangerous one.
With F1 drivers racing at speeds of up to 300 km/h, things can quickly go south in the event of a crash.
That's where a team of healthcare worker from the Sacre-Coeur hospital comes in.
"The whole team is about 130 people," explained Dr. Pierre Fiset.
"I've been on that since the month of January, calling people and putting the team together and all that."
It's the 37th time Sacre-Coeur has worked the Grand Prix, providing medical assistance to drivers, workers and even fans should they need it.
If there's an emergency, the patient is first brought to a makeshift hospital near the track.
"It's a resuscitation room, exactly a replication of what we have in Sacre-Coeur," said Dr. Francois Scarborough. "We can do X-rays, put [in an] IV, open a chest."
Within a few minutes of the patient arriving, doctors will determine the next steps.
Ambulances are standing by. If necessary, a patient can be airlifted to the emergency room via Airmedic helicopter.
"Flying-wise, it takes about five minutes from here once the helicopter lifts off," said Airmedic communication director Jean-Patrick Laflamme.
While these measures are key to keeping the Grand Prix as safe as possible, it's still an environment that comes with many risks: in 2013, race-track worker Mark Robinson died when he slipped underneath the wheel of a crane escorting a car from the track.
But without immediate access to emergency services, these tragedies would be all the more common.
Dr. Scarborough recalls the Robert Kubica Crash from 2007.
"We were sure he was [going] to die," he said.
After transporting the driver to hospital, it was discovered he had a cerebral concussion and sprained ankle, and he was treated accordingly.
"He was back on track a couple of weeks after."
All of the healthcare workers involved with the Grand Prix medic team work on a voluntary basis.
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