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Inquest to investigate the Finke Desert spectator death The biggest annual sporting event in the Northern Territory has also created the busiest weekend of the year for the Alice Springs Hospital. RACS has welcomed a decision of the Northern Territory government to hold a coronial inquest into the death of a spectator at the 2021 Finke Desert Race. The annual event is held across two days of the Queen’s birthday long weekend. Commencing in Alice Springs, drivers race across approximately 230 kilometres of harsh remote terrain, eventually finishing in the town of Aputula (formerly Finke). Competitors then complete a return leg the following day, with drivers split in to two categories across both days— motorbikes that race in the early morning, and cars that race later in the day. From modest beginnings in the 1970s, the race has grown in stature and profile in recent years. It now attracts around 750 entrants across the two categories. Typically, there are approximately 10,000 spectators every year, many of whom set up campsites along the length of the remote track. While the race has become one of the biggest annual sporting events held in the Northern Territory, unfortunately it has also created a situation where the Queen’s birthday weekend is now inevitably the busiest weekend of the year for the Alice Springs Hospital. As an example, 42 race participants and 11 spectators required emergency treatment in Alice Springs for injuries related to the 2021 race. These numbers were higher than in previous years, despite the cancellation of the return leg
of the race. To put this in context, Alice Springs Hospital sees an average of 150 presentations on a ‘normal’ day, making the relative extra burden from the Finke Desert race considerable. Given the limitations of Alice Springs Hospital to manage complex spinal and orthopaedic patients—or those that need high levels of critical care—significant extra pressure is also placed on the health service of Adelaide, where the majority of these higher care patients are transferred. In 2021, eight patients required medical evacuation from Alice Springs to Adelaide for management of life-threatening injuries with several patients needing specialised spinal transport and admission to ICU on arrival. This has a number of financial, health and social implications. The retrieval process itself is not quick, with flight times alone being two to three hours one way. Weather can play a role and extra crews from the Royal Flying Doctor Service are often required to try and mitigate the effect of the race and minimise the need for patients not associated with the race who need medical retrieval for other reasons to wait several days before a retrieval asset is available. Cost of the flight, equipment and staffing can also be considerable. Following the 2021 Finke Desert Race, I wrote to the event organisers, Motorsports Australia, to highlight the concerns of RACS Road Trauma subcommittee. In this letter I encouraged an urgent reconsideration of the race, and at the very least for increased emphasis to be placed on spectator protection,
participant qualifications, and improved medical support. While the organisers reaffirmed their commitment to hosting the race, I was nevertheless pleased to see some changes made to previously lax safety guidelines ahead of the 2022 race. This included tougher entry requirement standards for drivers, improved safety standards for spectators, and the removal of quad bikes from the race. The College welcomes any change that will reduce the risk of death or serious injury from the race, and the Road Trauma subcommittee believe that the coronial inquest presents an important opportunity for reflection and review. I recently joined with Dr John Crozier (Chair of RACS bi-national Trauma Committee) to co-sign a letter to the NT coroner in preparation for the inquest. We sincerely hope that this inquest will prompt meaningful discussion and action to reduce the trauma and burden on not only the participants, spectators and families, but also the wider community. We strongly feel that the number of injuries and deaths associated with the Finke Dessert Race are excessive and we will continue to advocate for a safer environment for all. I will also endeavour to keep you updated on any public findings that are made by the coroner in the future issues of Surgical News. Dr Jodie-Kate Williams, Chair, RACS Road Trauma Advisory Subcommittee
