An Observational Study Using English Syndromic Surveillance Data Collected During the 2012 London Olympics – What did Syndromic Surveillance Show and What Can We Learn for Future Mass-gathering Events?

Introduction In preparation for the London 2012 Olympic Games, existing syndromic surveillance systems operating in England were expanded to include daily general practitioner (GP) out-of-hours (OOH) contacts and emergency department (ED) attendances at sentinel sites (the GP OOH and ED syndromic surveillance systems: GPOOHS and EDSSS). Hypothesis/Problem The further development of syndromic surveillance systems in time for the London 2012 Olympic Games provided a unique opportunity to investigate the impact of a large mass-gathering event on public health and health services as monitored in near real-time by syndromic surveillance of GP OOH contacts and ED attendances. This can, in turn, aid the planning of future events. METHODS: The EDSSS and GPOOHS data for London and England from July 13 to August 26, 2012, and a similar period in 2013, were divided into three distinct time periods: pre-Olympic period (July 13-26, 2012); Olympic period (July 27 to August 12); and post-Olympic period (August 13-26, 2012). Time series of selected syndromic indicators in 2012 and 2013 were plotted, compared, and risk assessed by members of the Real-time Syndromic Surveillance Team (ReSST) in Public Health England (PHE). Student's t test was used to test any identified changes in pattern of attendance. RESULTS: Very few differences were found between years or between the weeks which preceded and followed the Olympics. One significant exception was noted: a statistically significant increase (P value = .0003) in attendances for "chemicals, poisons, and overdoses, including alcohol" and "acute alcohol intoxication" were observed in London EDs coinciding with the timing of the Olympic opening ceremony (9:00 pm July 27, 2012 to 01:00 am July 28, 2012). CONCLUSIONS: Syndromic surveillance was able to provide near to real-time monitoring and could identify hourly changes in patterns of presentation during the London 2012 Olympic Games. Reassurance can be provided to planners of future mass-gathering events that there was no discernible impact in overall attendances to sentinel EDs or GP OOH services in the host country. The increase in attendances for alcohol-related causes during the opening ceremony, however, may provide an opportunity for future public health interventions. Todkill D , Hughes HE , Elliot AJ , Morbey RA , Edeghere O , Harcourt S , Hughes T , Endericks T , McCloskey B , Catchpole M , Ibbotson S , Smith G . An observational study using English syndromic surveillance data collected during the 2012 London Olympics - what did syndromic surveillance show and what can we learn for future mass-gathering events? Prehosp Disaster Med. 2016;31(6):628-634.