The impact of a music festival on local health services.

A music festival was held in July 1989 near Liskeard in Cornwall. This paper comments on some of the organisational problems, and documents the workload of voluntary workers and professional medical agencies serving the festival. At least 467 of attenders (greater than 1%) sought aid, and 15 patients required hospital admission. There were two deaths and one birth at the site. It is suggested that, in addition to the services provided by voluntary agencies, organisers of mass gatherings should provide suitably qualified medical and nursing personnel on site.