Shanghai Daily news

The medical team is probably the only group of people in a Formula One race who deal with tragedy instead of triumph.
As the chief medical delegate for the F1 Chinese Grand Prix, Dr Chen Shiyi is living life at the limit to give the Shanghai International Circuit a safer debut.
One of the most famous orthopedic surgeons in China, Chen has headed medical teams at previous Shanghai-based grand sports occasions including the just-concluded Seventh China University Games.
But the speed of F1 risks it poses for drivers are still new challenges to him.
“I do shoulder great pressure since this is the first F1 race in China. I am working on the medical emergency plan even in dreams these days,”Chen says.
F1 medical care requires intimate knowledge not only of men but of machines.
For instance, when moving a driver out of a Renault, Jaguar or Williams racing car, the medical staff should first lift the driver vertically upwards about two centimeters and then forwards to release the seat.
“My responsibility is to always make sure that we are executing the procedures exactly,”says Chen, who has assisted the FIA Chief Medical Delegate Sid Watkins at several grand prix this year to gain first-hand experience.
A medical team consisting of 100 local experienced doctors and nurses with different majors will be at the Medical team is drilled to cope with any event Shanghai International Circuit in Jiading District for the three days of racing.
They are responsible for primary medical aid and basic treatment.
All the doctors are from the city’s top hospitals and started training and rehearsing in May.
Two helicopters will be on standby at the medical center in the circuit to take seriously injured drivers to Huashan Hospital in downtown Jing’an District.
Huashan, the city’s only hospital with a helicopter pad, is the designated medical facility for drivers.
It is responsible for all kinds of injuries except burns, which will be treated at Ruijin Hospital.
Burns victims will be transferred to Ruijin after being flown to Huashan.
Huashan Hospital’s preparations include designing a special route for taking injured drivers from the apron to the operating room and setting up a top medical team.
“We have four special operating rooms with the best doctors and nurses from every department for any emergency,”said Ding Qiang, Huashan’s vice president.
FIA officials who inspected the hospital in July found it met all requirements for facilities, equipment and medical skills.
Organizing committee officials said they have launched drills to experience every step of medical treatment and they are confident of providing in-time and high-quality medical services.
“We have launched drills on drivers encountering accidents in the championship and simulated the whole process from releasing the driver from a crashed car, giving emergency treatment and flying the person to Huashan,”said Chen Shiyi.
“Emergency vehicles can have the driver out of the car within four to five minutes. The medical team in the circuit provides urgent treatment.“Then the helicopter can transfer him to Huashan within 10 minutes.”
Chen also explained that the committee has alternative plans, if the weather is too poor for air transport.
“We have designed road routes from the circuit in Jiading to Huashan. With the cooperation of local police, the whole process is to be controlled within 30 minutes,”he said.
The route from Huashan to Ruijin can be traveled within nine minutes. Officials said treatment for spectators will be at Jiading District People’s Hospital.