TT - Medical crew

[Haynesy]

Love this pic of a TT doctor on a bike!!

[MUNGO]

Is it TT or NW200?

[steve-e]

Irish plate?

[Simon Smith]

Ulster?

[Haynesy]

Norn Iron - I thought that too. Not sure where this came from, but it made me smile.

[Richard Rollings]

I saw the value of having a quick travelling doctor at Cookstown last year. A solo lad came off at the end of the 1st lap and the Doctor was there in seconds

[Helen Gibson]

Not the TT... we have travelling marshals...UGP, I think...Ireland anyway.. they have a mad travelling doctor... he's amazing.

[Kyler]

shouldn't he be on a sidecar with a stretcher?

[Helen Gibson]

Dr Fred McSorley is one of my heroes. Here's an article about the docs:

If you've ever been to a Road Race in Northern Ireland you might have seen the riders riding around the circuit between or during races in blue and yellow overalls. Who are those guys? Well to give them their proper title they are the Medical Team of the MCUI Ulster Centre.

The teams consists of two doctors on motorcycles, one a Ducati and the other a Honda Blackbird, and are backed up by a four-wheeled vehicle manned by other doctors and paramedics plus a member of RAYNET. Their aim is to provide a mobile and rapid medical intervention to any injured rider or spectator. They work very closely with members of all the first-aid organisations who are based at the various first-aid posts around the circuits and who communicate with them via RAYNET through the medical control. They are able and considerate it important that they are able to offer a flexible response given that incidents can occur at any point on a circuit and can vary in their severity and nature.

Dr David McManus said "We are easily recognised in our blue and yellow suits and the membership of the team currently is five doctors, two paramedics, and a first aid trained member of RAYNET." The doctors are David McManus, Fred MacSorley, Mark Sheridan, Nigel Ruddell and Clive Patterson. The paramedics are Denis Browne and Martin Ferris and Ian Gibson is the member of RAYNET.

Each of the doctors on the team has a special interest and is very experienced in the field of pre hospital emergency care. With one of the doctors a consultant in the intensive care unit of the Royal Victoria Hospital Belfast while some of the other doctors provide backup to the emergency services such as the ambulance and fire services in their local areas, a highly professional set-up. One of the paramedics was until recently the regional training officer for the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service. Dr David McManus has recently been appointed as the Medical Director of the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service and is the vice president of the international medical panel of the FIM. Dr. Fred MacSorley was recently given the award of Northern Ireland Doctor of the Year in 1999.

Dr McManus explained, "In the event of an incident occurring we will receive an initial report on the condition of the riders involved. One or both of the doctors on the motorcycles can then be dispatched even when the race is still in progress. These doctors carry, on specially constructed belts and backpacks portable medical equipment to allow them to give immediate treatment and initial resuscitation. Should the condition of the rider be such that more extensive or intensive treatment is required the medical backup vehicle and team can also be despatched once the race has been stopped. This vehicle contains an extensive range of medical equipment and effectively acts as a mobile intensive care or accident and emergency department. This vehicle contains over £20,000 worth of equipment that allows us to perform a full resuscitation and treat most injuries and provide rapid stabilisation for the rider prior to their dispatch to hospital."

The team are continually updating and replacing this equipment in order to ensure that the riders receive the most up-to-date treatment possible. In addition many of the items that they use are for single use only in order to maintain sterility and are therefore constantly being renewed. Some of the items of equipment cost up to £8000 per item such as the defibrillators and cardiac monitors while others cost only a few pence but each item is extremely important and as necessary as the other.

Dr McManus said, "We are therefore most grateful for all the help and support that is offered to us in our work by competitors, the MCUI, the spectator's and enthusiasts. At the moment the team are purchasing items of equipment that will allow them to secure the airway of a seriously injured rider by the use of a small surgical device. This will help them to resuscitate those riders who are so seriously injured that they are unable to secure their airway by other more conventional means. All of this and the extensive range of equipment available to us from donations ensures that the riders receive appropriate treatment of a very high standard at the scene." The team are unique in being the only road race/track medical team to use motorcycles to transport doctors to the scene of an incident.

(Article from MAG Sports website)