First Aid or TDDI? CQC Registration and Exceptions for Event Medical Services
Updated: Oct 10
Do event first aid providers need CQC registration? Some do, but the answer depends on their service arrangements.
The changes to event medical regulation bring more treatment within the scope of Treatment of disease, disorder or injury, usually called TDDI. They do not mean that every first aid company, clinician or event organiser must register.
Providers need to consider the activities they deliver, who provides or supervises them, who is responsible for the service and whether an exception applies.
This article explains those considerations using CQC’s supporting registration guidance for treatment at events, its exceptions guidance and its published examples.
Does event first aid require CQC registration?
CQC says a service providing only first aid does not need TDDI registration.
First aid is the initial response to illness or injury, using recognised first aid procedures to help someone until further assistance is available. It can include simple observations, deciding whether emergency help is needed, CPR and using an automated external defibrillator.
Clinical diagnosis, interpreting investigations, treatment requiring professional judgement and using patient group directions or patient specific directions fall outside CQC’s description of first aid.
When does event medical care become TDDI?
TDDI includes treatment delivered by, or under the supervision of, a listed healthcare professional, or through a team that includes one. Doctors, nurses and paramedics are among the listed professionals.
A nurse or paramedic may work solely as a first aider. However, using professional registration skills or clinical judgement changes the position. CQC’s nursing example also highlights the use of the professional title.
The provider must then consider whether the activity meets the TDDI criteria and whether another exception applies. Physiotherapists providing standalone physiotherapy services do not need to register with CQC for TDDI. CQC specifically excludes physiotherapists from the list of healthcare professionals covered by this regulated activity. Assessing and treating sports injuries in their capacity as a physiotherapist, including at sporting events, does not by itself require TDDI registration.
Providers must still check whether their wider service requires registration. For example, treatment delivered or supervised by a listed healthcare professional, or through a multidisciplinary team that includes one, can fall within TDDI. Other regulated activities may also require separate registration.
Can seeking clinical advice bring first aid into scope?
Yes. CQC’s example involves first aiders seeking advice from employed listed healthcare professionals about possible infection and further treatment. It says the professional’s clinical input takes this beyond first aid.
When reviewing your service, include the advice and supervision available to staff, alongside the treatment they directly provide.
What other exceptions apply to event medical services?
CQC’s relevant exceptions guidance explains existing exceptions that remain available. They have not all been removed by the event medical changes.
Transport within an event site
Transport wholly within the event boundary can be excepted. Transport beyond it, such as to hospital, requires separate consideration of the transport regulated activity. Providers must establish the boundary; open or unclear boundaries may affect registration.
Certain doctor-led consulting-room services
The doctor must be a TDDI-registered provider or employed by one, and either be on a medical performers list for a designated body or employed by a provider that is a designated body. Practising privileges can count as employment.
Treatment must generally stay within the surgery or consulting room. Expected treatment elsewhere across the event falls outside this exception.
Procedure exclusions apply, including IV medicines, specified imaging and anaesthesia or IV sedation, subject to limited exceptions for certain nail procedures under local anaesthesia. Check the full conditions.
Employer-arranged medical or dental treatment
An exception can cover treatment arranged only by a person’s employer, without hospital accommodation. CQC illustrates this with employed professional sportspeople. It does not automatically extend to spectators, relatives or friends.
Defence medical and dental treatment
CQC also identifies defence medical or dental treatment provided by the armed forces.
These exceptions need to be considered separately. For example, an exception for transport within the event boundary does not establish that clinical treatment during that transport is outside TDDI.
My advice is to record which exception you believe applies and compare its conditions with your contracts, staffing and actual service. A short description such as “doctor cover” or “sports medicine” is unlikely to give enough detail to make that decision.
Do physiotherapists and pharmacists need TDDI registration?
CQC’s physiotherapist and pharmacist examples do not require TDDI registration because those professions are not listed for this activity.
This concerns the TDDI definition, rather than a general exemption from regulation. Different team arrangements, supervision and other regulated activities need separate review.
Does volunteering at an event remove the registration requirement?
No. CQC’s volunteer doctor example says being unpaid does not automatically remove the requirement. Establish whether the individual or an organisation is responsible for carrying on the activity.
An unexpected, unpaid intervention by a healthcare professional who happens to be a bystander is different from planned medical cover. CQC distinguishes these “Good Samaritan” situations in its guidance.
Who should register with CQC?
CQC registers the legal entity responsible for carrying on the regulated activity. It may be an individual, partnership, company, charity or another organisation.
For event arrangements involving several providers, subcontractors or volunteers, establish responsibility for each part of the care. An event organiser is not automatically the provider, and a clinician’s professional registration does not replace required provider registration.
If you already hold TDDI registration, CQC says you do not need to register again solely because of these changes. Check whether your registration or Statement of Purpose needs updating.
For services working across several events, the registered location may be the base from which care is managed. Review CQC’s location guidance against your own arrangements.
When do event medical providers need to register?
CQC’s timetable has three key dates:
7 September 2026: applications opened.
1 March 2027: submit a fully complete application by this date so CQC can take reasonable steps to assess it and provide an outcome before the new requirements take full effect.
6 December 2027: regulation and enforcement of TDDI at event sites begin.
Later applications will still be assessed, but an outcome before 6 December 2027 is not assured.
CQC allows the newly covered event activity to continue during the transition period, ending on 5 December 2027. This does not suspend registration requirements for other activities already in scope.
How to check your event medical registration requirements
Before preparing an application, my suggested review questions are:
What treatment and clinical advice does your service provide?
Which staff provide or supervise it, and in what capacity?
Who is responsible for carrying on the activity?
Do any exceptions apply, and are all their conditions met?
Do you transport patients beyond the event boundary?
Does your existing registration accurately describe the service?
Compare the answers with your website, service specifications, contracts and staff instructions. Where the position is unclear, describe the arrangements fully and seek clarification from CQC.
For a wider overview, read my article on CQC registration for event medical services and the new TDDI requirements.
CQC registration support for event medical providers
As a former CQC inspector, I provide practical support with understanding registration requirements, preparing applications and getting ready for assessment.
I can help review your service model, identify potential gaps, prepare your Statement of Purpose and check that supporting documents describe your service consistently.
Support can also include Registered Manager and Nominated Individual preparation, mock fit-person interviews and help responding to CQC queries. The aim is to help you prepare an accurate application and explain how your service will operate safely. CQC makes the registration decision.
Find out more about my CQC registration application support, or contact me to discuss your event medical service.
Related reading: CQC Scope of Registration: A Guide for Providers.
This article concerns CQC registration in England. Requirements depend on the full service arrangements, regulated activities and applicable exceptions. Guidance checked on 4 October 2026.
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