“On a typical competition day, we will have between seven and 10 cases coming directly from the racetrack and a number of situations coming from the general public in the case of more unstable cases,” explained Dr. Patrick Bellemare, intensive care physician at the CIUSSS du Nord-de-l’Île-de-Montréal.
Therefore, a “temporary” hospital was set up in a building near the track to treat serious injuries to spectators and drivers.
“We have an infrastructure that allows us to perform stabilization and even initiate surgery if necessary,” said Dr. Bellemare. “We can do a lot to stabilize patients on site.”
For more serious medical cases during the event, helicopter transport to the Sacré-Cœur-de-Montreal hospital is also available. This can take between 6 and 8 minutes. “It’s very fast. Two helicopters take turns,” said Dr. Bellemare.
A few days before the Grand Prix there were intensive training days and compulsory simulations, because every minute counts.
“The rapid intervention team has the qualities and technical skills to free the driver from his car,” said Nelson Boissotte, nurse on the Canadian Grand Prix medical team.
Watch Jean-François Poudrier’s report in the video.
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