The Commonwealth Games

Preparations

I arrived at the village seven days before it opened and picked up my distinctive red medical volunteers' uniform and probably the biggest identity card ever produced. The campus was eerily quiet, with just the occasional purple shirted volunteer appearing in an electric golf trolley, obviously not yet confident enough to greet me with the token, “Hiya, our kid.” The medical centre was in a temporary structure erected on a car park. Inside, walled off cubicles were designated for a pharmacy, nine physiotherapy rooms, a podiatry room, a storeroom, doping control, a ward with three beds and a nursing area, four doctors' consulting rooms, a room for optometry, an office, and a staff break area. Everything was still covered in plastic wrapping, telephones were not working, and no running water was available for a much needed morning brew.

We unwrapped and set out the furniture after working out what it was meant to be. Two comical drivers in purple shirts bought in examination couches, beds, physiotherapy machines, diagnostic ultrasound kit, and other equipment. Consumable deliveries arrived throughout the first half of the week.

Lockdown

Entry into the village was painless at first using a day pass. But with “lockdown,” later in the week, everyone was “mag and bagged” at the pedestrian entrance and access to vehicles was restricted. All permitted vehicles needed an …