Graeme McCrory of Medics on Scene at Hastings Health Centre administering the flu jab in 2020. Photo / Warren Buckland
Graeme McCrory of Medics on Scene at Hastings Health Centre administering the flu jab in 2020. Photo / Warren Buckland
The events industry gets hit first, hit hardest, and is the last to recover, says managing director of Medics on Scene Nathan Thompson, following the decision to cease trading on Friday this week.
Thompson told Hawke's Bay Today the business which had started nearly four years ago in late November2017 had spent four months of not being able to sustain its outgoings.
"Events are just not happening, people are cancelling, and it's just not viable anymore."
Medics on Scene provide medical services with the aid of trained medical personnel like senior clinicians, registered paramedics, intensive care paramedics, and registered nurses, to events like Horse of the Year, concerts like Six60, and extreme sports like motocross.
"At Six60 we had 30 medical personnel, and 147 patient presentations for everything from a sprained ankle to overdosing on multiple substances."
Thompson said over the Covid lockdown there were mass event cancellations, which meant "minimum wage had been the maximum payment" for him and his partner, clinical services director Jules Dewar.
In September, Medics on Scene lost 97 per cent of its business with 18 jobs booked, and only one going ahead.
The business started off with 39 events booked in October, and 24 of those either cancelled or were postponed, a loss of 61 per cent, he said.
"We've already had at least 60 per cent of the events in November and December cancelled."
Six60 concert at the Tomoana Showgrounds in Hastings, in Jan, was the biggest concert Medics on Scene worked at. Photo / Ian Cooper.
Napier City Council event manager Kevin Murphy said the company's demise would be a "huge blow" to the local events industry.
"Suppliers like Medics on Scene provide excellent services for a wide range of events and it's devastating to hear the news.
"There's a lot of suppliers where businesses stopped running-like marquee providers, audio suppliers, but for suppliers like Medics, their services have been crucial to us.
"It will be interesting to see if St John can fill the void with manpower."
He said the business was an "amazing group of people to work with".
"We know there's light at the end of the tunnel for the events industry, it's just taking a while for us to get there."
NCC event manager Kevin Murphy said it was 'devastating' to see Medics on Scene shut up shop. Photo / Paul Taylor
Thompson said over the last four years the business had grown steadily, but Covid had made it increasingly hard to stay afloat.
The business has 22 core employees, with a total of 30 in the staff pool, and most of those hold other jobs.
"We had just got to the point where we could supply a full team of medics to four events simultaneously.
"But it has been hard since Covid. We are community-focused, so we don't charge exorbitant fees.
"The minimum wage has been our maximum payment, and we just don't make enough to justify the next six months without payment.
"The events industry gets hit first, hit hardest, and is the last to recover."
He said the business was a "huge" financial investment and the final nail in its coffin were the Government mandates around compulsory vaccination for healthcare staff.
"The fact that I am not able to re-designate my personnel into roles if they chose not to be vaccinated is just too heartbreaking.
"They would lose their registrations, and I would lose about four people.
"My heart goes out to them, our team is like family and a lot of people are hurting, particularly in the events sector.
"It's a real shame, and it will send a huge ripple through our community."
He said he wasn't comfortable with the mandates and felt, with the vaccination rates increasing, they were "unnecessary, and not right".
Thompson and his partner Dewar will be taking time out to plan ahead.
"I would love to say we'd consider coming back in eight months, but I just don't have the confidence we will come back at all."
Simon Barnett, St John head of Event Health Services, said St John's focus was to partner with event organisers to "mitigate their health risk at events.
"We are aware of the news that Medics on Scene will be ceasing trading and appreciate and recognise the contribution they have made to events in the Hawke's Bay community."
He said his team was working closely with event organisers in Hawke's Bay to offer support for those events impacted, including mobilising staff from out of the area to ensure St John could provide the level of medical coverage required.
