title: Healthcare planning for the Olympics in London: a qualitative evaluation.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Mass gatherings, such as the Olympic and Paralympic Games, represent an enormous logistical challenge for the host city. Health service planners must deliver routine and emergency services and, in recent Games, health legacy initiatives, for the local and visiting population. However there is little evidence to support their planning decisions. We therefore evaluated the strategic health planning programme for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games to identify generalisable information for future Games.
  
  
  METHODS
  We thematically analysed data from stakeholder interviews and documents. The data were prospectively collected in three phases, before, during and after the Games.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We identified five key themes: (1) Systemic Improvement for example in communications, (2) Effective relationships led to efficiencies and permanent gains, such as new relationships with the private sector (3) Difficult relationships led to inefficiencies, for instance, duplication in testing and exercising emergency scenarios, (4) Tendency to over-estimate demand for care, particularly emergency medicine, and (5) Difficulties establishing a health legacy due to its deprioritisation and lack of vision by the programme team.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Enduring improvements which are sustained after the Games are possible, such as the establishment of new and productive partnerships. Relationships must be established early on to avoid duplication, delay and unnecessary expense. There should be greater critical evaluation of the likely demand for health services to reduce the wasting of resources. Finally, if a health legacy is planned, then clear definitions and commitment to its measurement is essential.
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Health Research, University College London, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Georgia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Black
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Health Research, University College London, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Kostas
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kononovas
authors.affiliation: Public Health Specialty Registrar, London Deanery, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Jayne
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Health Research, University College London, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Rosalind
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Raine
mesh_terms: D004632:Emergency Medical Services; D006801:Humans; D008131:London; D013177:Sports