The event healthcare standard: what organisers need to know

Over the past few months, there’s been a noticeable shift in how the sector is talking about medical provision and a growing awareness that the Event Healthcare Standard and expectations around CQC registration is going to change the landscape.

Here’s what I’m hearing, what is happening, and what organisers should be thinking about as we head towards 2026.

The Draft Event Healthcare Standard is coming

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and partner agencies are in the final stages of preparing the draft Event Healthcare Standard, with publication expected in the spring. Once released, the focus won’t be on assessing organisers or providers but on testing the standard itself to make sure it holds up in real event environments.

Several events and medical providers are likely to be invited into this testing phase and if that includes you, it’s worth getting involved. This isn’t an audit; it’s a chance to help shape the standard before anything becomes formal. If you’re in a position to volunteer, I would recommend it. It’s a valuable opportunity to make sure the framework is practical, translatable into operational reality, and makes sense when applied out in the field.

Expectations are already shifting

Although the standard won’t fully roll out until 2027, the industry isn’t waiting for legislation to start raising the bar. Safety Advisory Groups and local authorities are already asking more pointed questions, particularly around:

• Risk assessments should identify medical-related risks and outline the mitigations required.

• Event Medical Plans that have not been copied and pasted from one year to the next

• Harm reduction strategies

• How organisers will avoid placing demand on the NHS and emergency services

And that last point is becoming impossible to ignore.

The NHS is under significant pressure. Police and fire services cannot absorb operational gaps. Everyone is committed to events going ahead, but only when organisers demonstrate that they’re genuinely self-sufficient.

This expectation is only going to harden as we move closer to the new standard.

So where does CQC fit into all of this?

One of the most significant changes for organisers sits outside the Event Healthcare Standard itself. The government has consulted on removing the current exemptions that mean some event medical providers don’t need to register with the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

The CQC is the independent regulator for health and social care in England - the same body that oversees ambulance services, hospitals and clinics. If the exemption is removed, as expected, any provider delivering treatment for illness or injury at events (anything beyond basic first aid) will need to be CQC-registered.

For organisers, this means a few important things:

• You’ll need to know whether your medical provider is CQC-registered or working towards it.

• Higher-risk events are likely to require a registered provider.

• You may be asked to show clearer evidence of clinical governance, not just “we have medics on site.”

• Not every provider will be eligible to cover every event once these changes come in.

This isn’t about making events harder to run. It’s about ensuring that when clinical care is delivered on site, it meets a recognised standard and that events aren’t relying on already-pressured NHS and emergency services to pick up the pieces.

The Event Healthcare Standard will sit alongside this, offering clearer guidance on what “good” looks like and helping organisers and providers work to a consistent level.

Not all events are the same

“It’s worth stating clearly that not every event needs a full CQC-registered medical service. For small, low-risk events, a first aider may still be entirely appropriate. A first responder could also be suitable, although depending on the final changes to regulation, some first responder roles may sit under the new CQC requirements. But once you start adding elements such as alcohol, overnight camping, high-risk activities, or larger and more complex audiences or venues, the level of expected medical planning increases and in those situations, your medical provider will be required to be CQC-registered.

Looking ahead to 2026: a few things worth checking now

2026 isn’t about the standard being law yet, it’s about organisers starting to understand what the expectations will look like and getting ahead of them at a sensible pace for now. Many still aren’t fully aware of what’s coming, which is exactly why these conversations matter.

If you’re planning events next season, here are a few practical checks that will put you in a stronger position:

• Is your medical provider CQC-registered (or in the process)?
This will matter for many events sooner than people think, particularly where risk profiles are higher. If your provider isn’t registered yet, my advice is to work with them rather than switching. They already know your event; you have an established relationship and navigating this together is far better than starting again with someone new. CQC registration takes approx. 6 months.

• Have you considered volunteering to be part of the testing phase?
If the opportunity comes up, it’s worth doing. It’s a rare chance to help shape a standard that will eventually influence the entire sector.

• Do you have an up-to-date event medical plan written with your provider?
This should outline clinical capability, staffing, major incident planning and how your provider will deliver safe, proportionate medical cover that matches your event profile.

• Does your event risk assessment fully consider medical risk?
Think about the realities of your site and audience: terrain, weather exposure, access routes, crowd behaviour, and previous data on why people present to medical. This is about understanding the risk picture your medical plan needs to respond to.

·    Do you have a harm reduction strategy alongside that?
This should cover safeguarding, welfare provision, lost/found people process, neurodiversity considerations, mental health support or signposting, and appropriate substance-use harm reduction. These elements aren’t tick-boxes anymore - they’re part of safe event delivery.

• Do you have a robust contract with your medical provider?
It should clearly set out expectations, scope of cover, communication needs, data reporting, and what happens if plans need to change.