On the night of a throng at the O2 Brixton Academy in southwest London, only half of the recommended number of medical personnel were on duty.
According to industry standards, there should have been at least 10 medical personnel present, including a paramedic and a nurse.
The medical coverage provider confirmed that only five individuals were present when the crash occurred in December.
There were no paramedics or nurses present.
Rebecca Ikumelo, 33, and security guard Gaby Hutchinson, 23, perished in the hospital after the crowd surge at Asake’s concert on 15 December 2022.
Collingwood Services Ltd, a medical provider, stated that it was “fully confident” that its staff “responded promptly, effectively, and by best practice.”
We contacted Academy Music Group (AMG), the venue operator, for comment. It stated that it was unable to respond to specific queries, citing the ongoing police investigation.
Two whistleblowers who routinely work for Collingwood Services Ltd in Brixton told that medical coverage at the south London event was “inadequate.
Neither of them was present when the collision occurred, but one claimed to have spoken with coworkers who were.
The informants informed us that none of the five Collingwood employees at the venue possessed a paramedic certification.
One whistleblower stated, “[They] had two student paramedics, so they are essentially unqualified.” “They must be supervised by a paramedic and not by anyone of inferior rank. They lacked adequate supervision.”
To become a paramedic, you must pass a Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)-approved course. Which typically requires three years of degree-level study.
According to sources, two of the three others working that night were “FREC 3s” – individuals with a Level 3 certificate in First Response Emergency Care. Typically, they would have completed a five-day course to acquire medical and trauma skills for pre-hospital settings.
We contacted Collingwood Services Ltd, who confirmed there were five trained medical personnel on-site on the evening of December 15. Two of those were first rescuers, which can mean different things.
The company also reported that two third-year paramedic students were operating as emergency medical technicians (EMTs). Collingwood claimed that the fifth individual was also an EMT.
EMT is a generic term for varying levels of competency in the NHS and private medical sector. It is not a regulated credential.
We asked the company to elucidate the qualifications of the five Brixton employees, but it refused to do so, stating only that “all staff present were qualified to carry out the scope of practice they were contracted to perform.”
It was also confirmed that “no staff member was contracted to perform paramedic-level duties at the event.”
In addition, Collingwood informed us that three additional medical professionals arrived at the Academy at 23:00 and remained until 02:30.
Police have previously stated that they were contacted by venue staff around 21:30.
London Ambulance Service reports that it was summoned to the site at 22:06 and that its personnel treated ten patients at the scene, eight of whom were transported to the hospital.
Industry standards recommend that there should have been at least ten individuals with medical training on duty for a sold-out, 5,000-strong audience performance at Brixton, such as the Asake show.
That is twice as many as were present when the stampede occurred.
Concert organizers throughout the United Kingdom use a variety of tools to determine appropriate personnel levels.
They will likely examine past events of a similar nature to determine the staffing requirements. File on 4 previously reported that Academy operator AMG had classified the Asake concert as “high risk.”
Event planners commonly cite the National Arenas Association’s A-Guide and the Purple Guide.
The Purple Guide is based on guidance previously published by the Health and Safety Executive. And while it was initially developed for outdoor live events, it is now also used as a benchmark for indoor ones.
