Captain of the Finnish women’s national ice hockey team Jenni Hiirikoski a scary injury in Sweden’s SDHL caused a lot of discussion in the Swedish media about the security arrangements for the matches.
Fortunately, there was a doctor there, though this is not required in the series (you will switch to another service), but not an ambulance, as in men’s major league fights. It took a while for the ambulance to arrive local newspaper Norrbottens Kuriren (you will switch to another service) including 27 minutes.
– We have to improve the matter so that there is a doctor and an ambulance. It shouldn’t be the case that we only get an ambulance and a doctor when something has happened, Brynäs’ Finnish striker Matilda Nilsson said according to SVT. (you switch to another service)
Competition Manager of the Ice Hockey Association Pirkka Antila says that the Women’s League clubs are required to have a person with first aid skills at the matches, but not a doctor.
– A person with first aid skills must be there and quickly help in case of possible injuries. This has worked so far, but the whole time it is under consideration that a doctor’s presence might be required, Antila tells Urheilu.
According to Antila, demanding doctors is not a simple matter: for example, in the men’s Mestis, it is a really big challenge to get a doctor involved in the match event. So far, however, the doctor has always been present at the match.
– This is a bigger issue. We should be able to work out how to get more medics available for match events. It’s not easy in Mestis either, and it won’t be easy in the Women’s League either, unless the league clubs come to help.
According to Antila, the problem is the willingness of doctors.
– There is no desire to come. They are not available, Antila summarizes.
Is it about the money?
– I don’t think it’s about that either. Mestis clubs pay, for example, doctors. There is no such thing as charity.
There is no ambulance requirement in the Women’s League, nor in the Men’s SM League. In the final match of the Women’s League at the Helsinki ice hall, however, an ambulance was present.
Competition manager of the SM league Arto I. Järvelän however, we are trying to get ambulances to all match events. According to Järvelä, this is affected by locality-specific agreements.
– There are local differences here, because there are special ambulance transport contracts that bind entrepreneurs and municipalities.
According to Järvelä, for example, the size of the city and the service providers are of great importance when it comes to getting ambulances.
– Not every place has the same rules, so we can’t directly oblige an ambulance to be there.
However, the SM league obliges each home team to have a doctor and a first aid team for the matches.
A defibrillator, or defibrillator, to be used in the event of a cardiac arrest must also be found in every hall. According to Järvelä, this has been demanded for more than ten years.
According to Antila, defibrillators were once also purchased for Mestis halls and they were renewed and inspected last fall in all halls. It is under consideration that they would also be mandatory in the Women’s League.
If the Women’s League is played in the SM league or Mestis hall, the defibrillator can already be found in the hall.
– This is something that needs to be thought about, how far the obligation is extended.
According to Antila, the Women’s League has been monitoring concussions during the winter. He believes that tests for concussions will begin to be required.
– It is on the table that health checks are required, as in Mestis. They are slowly being introduced to the Women’s League, Antila says.
Antila points out that, before the start of each season, baseline testing has been done in Mestis for everyone who has had a head injury in their career. These test results can be used to support diagnostics in the event of a concussion.
According to Antila, there is certainly always room for improvement in security, but he reminds us that it is also an art with opportunities and circumstances. According to him, money also affects the matter to some extent.
– We are constantly moving forward and the level of requirements, above all in terms of the safety and health of the players, has been and will be, Antila says.