The Medical Training Working Group (MTWG) seeks to improve medical education and training for motor sport medics. Its remit is to raise the standards of medical training across all motor racing championships worldwide.

Chaired by Formula One Medical Delegate Gary Hartstein, the group’s first task has been to create a modular motor sport medicine course that can be used to train trackside medical personnel.

Most trackside doctors are qualified in Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS), which is widely regarded as the leading qualification available. However, it is not tailored to dealing with emergencies at trackside and is not considered the ideal course for motor sport medicine. This is because it is a hospital based course whereas trackside treatment is pre-hospital medicine. As such, training requires a location to put it into a practical context.

The MTWG has sought to create a brand new motor sport medicine course. To do this it has sought input from a vast pool of knowledge amongst its membership. Members have been selected from motor sport markets all over the world to bring the widest amount of experience to the Working Group. They include Sid Watkins, Carl Gwinnutt, David Cranston (all UK), Gerard Saillant, Jean Duby, Jean-Jacques Isserman, Alain Chantegret (all France), Ronald Denis (Canada), Dino Altmann (Brazil), Nabeel al-Ansari (Bahrain), Masato Kito (Japan) and David Vissenga (Australia).

Progress

Between them, the members have created the curriculum for the course, which is set to be rolled out in 2007. Practical training will include trackside simulations that can provide practice for the whole spectrum of intervention personnel from fire crews and marshals through to medical and extrication personnel.