４年かけスキー猛特訓、北京五輪の救急医療チーム

【延慶ＡＦＰ＝時事】十字マークの付いた鮮やかなオレンジ色のジャケットを着た中国人医師の一団が、背中の重い医療用バッグをものともせず急斜面のコースを滑り降りてゆく。北京冬季五輪のスキー競技で負傷した選手を一刻も早く救助する任務を帯び、中国で初めて専門の訓練を積んだ救急医療チームだ。（写真は北京冬季五輪のスキー競技会場となる中国・延慶の国家アルペンスキーセンターで、コースを滑る救急医療チームの医師）
　中国でウインタースポーツはまだ新しく、五輪医療スタッフの多くもつい最近までアマチュアスキーヤーにすぎなかった。
　「訓練は簡単ではなかった」と、首都有数の医療機関である北京協和医院の整形外科医、李其一医師（４９）は振り返る。「気温が氷点下２０度や３０度まで下がることもあり、体感温度はもっと寒く感じる。足や顔に凍傷を負ったメンバーもいた」
　医師たちには、事故発生から４分以内に選手のもとへ駆け付けることが求められている。選手が大けがをした場合、最初の数分間が救命のカギを握る。
　中国当局は２０１８年、北京周辺の病院に呼び掛けて冬季五輪の医師ボランティアを募った。スキー経験が少しでもあることが応募条件の一つだった。
　総勢４０人余りの医療チームは４年間、毎年４～５週間の訓練を受け、スキーのエッジを立てて急斜面を安全に下る方法や、凍った斜面でのアイゼンの使い方などを教わってきた。
　北京積水潭医院の麻酔科医（３９）は、スキーの腕前には自信があったが、訓練が始まってみると「自分のレベルはまだまだだと実感した」と言う。「皆、医師だから病院での救命救急には慣れている。でも、スキー競技のコースは極寒の斜面で、環境がまったく違う」
　アルペンスキーの滑降競技では、最高時速は１４０キロに達し、壮絶な転倒事故も起こり得る。「私たちはコースの最も危険な地点で待機し、緊急事態に備えている」とこの医師は語った。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】

〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2022/02/08-10:55）

Undeterred by the heavy medical bags on their backs, a group of Chinese doctors zipped down a steep ski slope, part of a crack medical team tasked with racing to any injured athletes during the Winter Olympics.
Dressed in bright orange jackets with white crosses, the medics are the first group of people in China to be specifically trained for emergency ski rescues.
And until recently, most were little more than amateur skiers in a country with a nascent winter sports scene.
The training was not easy, recalled Li Qiyi, a 49-year-old orthopaedic surgeon usually stationed at Xiehe Hospital, one of Beijing's top medical facilities.
It sometimes dropped to -20 or -30 degrees, with an even lower windchill factor. Some of us had frostbite on our feet or face, he told AFP.
The world's finest skiers will start competing in the slalom, downhill and Super-G competitions in early February.
Li was among a group of medics AFP interviewed who were putting in last minute practice at Yanqing, one of two sites north of China's capital that will host mountain-based events.
The doctors are expected to get to any athlete who needs them within four minutes of an accident.
If someone suffers a catastrophic injury, those first few minutes can be vital for saving a life.
- Extreme cold -
Back in 2018, authorities put a call out to a dozen regional hospitals looking for volunteer doctors for the Games.
There was one key demand: those applying needed to have at least some experience of skiing.
Ahead of the Olympics, the government has been keen to promote winter sports, with mass construction of snow resorts leading to millions of fresh devotees.
But finding world class medical professionals who could handle themselves on all slopes in all conditions was no easy task.
Li Qiujun, a 39-year-old anaesthesiologist at Beijing's Jishuitan Hospital, jumped at the opportunity to volunteer as he considered himself an accomplished skier.
I was going down black slopes, so I thought I was good, but when the training started, I realised that I was still far from the required level, he said smiling.
We are all doctors, so we are used to doing emergency rescues in our hospitals. But on a competitive ski track, with the extreme cold, the slope, the environment, it's very different.
The three doctors AFP spoke to all had the family name Li but were unrelated.
Li Dong, a 51-year-old doctor from the Changping traditional Chinese medicine hospital, said the learning curve was a steep one.
Learning to put on and take off the skis on the snow, it was difficult, she recalled.
If you fall, you would tumble all the way down because the track is super steep and slippery.
Overall the team of more than 40 doctors has trained some four to five weeks a year over the last four years to get to where they now are.
They were taught multiple advanced techniques, such as how to safely descend steep edges on the sides of their skis and use crampons for icy sections.
- 'Proud to be a part' -
Much like military medics, the main focus is on speed.
If a skier gets hurt, we have to be able to get to him in four minutes, said Li Qiyi.
We must assess the severity of the injury and then perform first aid so that he can be evacuated quickly to a place where he can receive better care.
While some athletes have been killed preparing for the Winter Olympics or during a training session, no one has yet died during competition at the Games.
But the dangers are clear to anyone who takes part in, or watches, winter sports.
Downhill skiers can travel up to 140 kilometres per hour (87 miles per hour) and spectacular wipeouts do happen.
We stand by for orders at the most dangerous parts of the competition track, and prepare for when an emergency happens, explained Li Qiujun.
The skiing doctors are equipped with 5G walkie-talkies as well as medical rucksacks filled with trauma essentials, including intubation equipment, tourniquets, splints, syringes, oxygen and defibrillators.
They must also be able to communicate with foreign athletes.
If the injured remains conscious, we communicate with them in English. We had a lot of English lessons during our training, explained Li Qiyi.
Li Dong recalled her elderly parents were initially concerned about her training to be a ski doctor.
At the beginning, they said 'Don?t go, it's very dangerous' but after they saw that I was full of emotions, they became very supportive, she recalled.
We are proud to be a part of it.