Isle of Wight Festival sees fewer heat-related medical problems despite 15% rise in overall incidents

The medical team at the Isle of Wight Festival have said they have observed a lower number of heat-related problems compared to their initial expectations this year. However, there has still been a 15% increase in incidents compared to 2022.

David Rock, the medical commander representing Festimed, had anticipated that around 40% to 50% of patients would experience heat stroke and other heat-related issues, but the actual occurrence has been significantly lower, leading him to describe the weekend as "reasonable."

“We were expecting it to be a lot busier with the heatwave,” he told the PA news agency. “We increased the capacity greatly for that. Luckily, we didn’t need to use any of that as we’ve been quite reasonable this weekend.” He expressed his satisfaction at attending to fewer incidents than anticipated, describing it as a "great" outcome.

“We’ve had a 15% increase in heat-related incidents since last year… now we were expecting that to be up to 40% or 50% because of the extreme heat,” he said. “The temperatures did have an impact on us, but it wasn’t to the level that we were geared up for, which was great.”

Operating around the clock, the medical tent at the festival has around 75 skilled staff members who attend to a wide range of medical needs, ranging from minor injuries to more critical situations like cardiac arrest.

“We kind of treat (the festival) as a little mini-city that we provide the medical facilities for,” Rock said. “It’s fully set up ready for anything from a hurty finger all the way up to a cardiac arrest, but luckily we don’t get to too many serious ones, which is good.”

Although the team had to address a festival-goer with a cardiac condition, overall there have been no major incidents of note, according to Rock. He attributes this, at least in part, to the increased availability of drinking water taps throughout the festival site.

“The site here has done a huge amount of work on extra water points, social media, talking to people and telling people to shade, wear sunscreen, drink fluids, and it’s paid off,” he said.

The festival site is equipped with approximately 150,000 pieces of medical equipment and various medications, including antibiotics. This allows patients to access necessary treatment without the need to leave the site and visit a hospital or GP clinic. Rock said this provision "eases the burden on the already stretched NHS."

Rock also noted a significant decrease in the number of incidents related to alcohol and substance use at this year's festival, resulting in reduced pressure on the medical tent. “It’d be wrong for me to say that there wasn’t any alcohol or drugs on site – there definitely is – but luckily it’s quite small amounts and hasn’t had a huge impact,” he said.

“Normally, we’d have a fair few people in our recovery area, but this year it’s been a huge, huge reduction on that.” The medical commander added that the stresses of overseeing a team of 75 staff members during the heatwave of the weekend is often overlooked, but necessary precautions were implemented to ensure their safety while working in the scorching temperatures.

“This is one of the things we all forget – our staff are humans as well,” he said. "All the contractors are humans, and they do get affected by the heat, so we have put extra things in place like ice and more breaks and cooler areas, a little bit shorter shifts, rotations, and that’s paid off."

Rock's primary advice to festival-goers throughout the summer is to prioritise staying hydrated by "keeping the fluids," and that drinking according to one's thirst is the most crucial aspect to focus on.

The Isle of Wight Festival is due to come to a close today (18 June), but Sky Arts has once again been covering the event in 2023, broadcasting on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evening from 8pm onwards.