the sydney 2000 olympic and paralympic games - Australian Sports ...

PART FOUR : NSW GOVERNMENT AGENCIES GAMES SUPPORT SERVICES
4.4 Health and Medical Services
The NSW Department of Health and NSW Ambulance Service provided Games Medical services. The
cost of these services, after a $1.1 million contribution from SOCOG, was $8.3 million.
The Department of Health provided services such as hospital care and emergency readiness, interpreter,
food inspection and health surveillance to detect and prevent illness, injury and disease. Spectator and
athletes care services were provided at the Athletes Village and competition venues. The NSW
Ambulance Service provided dedicated ambulances at venues, hotels used by the Olympic and
Paralympic Families and the airport.
The following initiatives represent key Health and Medical services and achievements delivered during
the Games:
• NSW Health Olympic Co-ordination Centre
• Health Surveillance and Reporting
• Medical Care
• Medical Interpreter Service
• Hospital Services
• Doping Program
• Food Safety Program
• Environmental Health Program
• Vessel Inspection Program
• Counter Disaster Services
• Legacy
NSW Health Olympic Co-ordination Centre
During the Games period, a Health Olympic Co-ordination Centre (HOCC) was established at the NSW
Department of Health, under the direction of its Director General.
The primary role of the HOCC was to enable strategic decision making in response to Games-time
contingencies, including:
• The management of issues escalated from Area Health Services or Olympic venues.
• Receiving and determining action on reports from the Health Services Disaster Control Centre
(HSDCC), NSW Ambulance Service, Area Health Services, Olympic Hospitals, SOCOG’s
Co-ordinating Medical Centre and the Olympic Co-ordination Authority.
• Monitoring and reporting on the health of the population to allow rapid detection of outbreaks of
disease and to identify unusual patterns of illness or injury.
• Co-ordinating public responses to incidents as required and managing media issues in conjunction
with the Olympic Communications Centre (OCC).
Health Surveillance and Reporting
Surveillance for unusual patterns of injury and disease was implemented across Sydney, including inside
Olympic venues. Existing data collection systems, such as the Notifiable Diseases Database (NDD) were
enhanced and new systems were developed, including the Emergency Department Olympic Surveillance
System (EDOSS). Data from these sources were integrated into an online reporting format, the Olympic
Surveillance System (OSS), which was available on a secure Intranet site.
Daily reports were reviewed by the Olympic Surveillance Review Team (OSRT), chaired by the NSW
Public Health Controller and attended by public health experts from metropolitan Public Health Units. A
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