My first impressions of the IRHC were . . . → Read More: What IRHC can do for me ?]]> It was, on the 2^nd week of October and I invited to attend the External Liaison Committee meeting of the Institute of Remote Health care (IRHC) like a lot of my peers I was initially sceptical about the IRHC and what it would mean for me as a Remote/offshore medic.

My first impressions of the IRHC were through the website and I must admit I had the initial impression that it was a bit highbrow and academic for a bloke like me. I also remember the ill-fated “Paramedic UK” set up of the 1990’s and I am sure a lot of us of a certain age have some mixed memories of how that ended.  So with these pre conceived ideas, I attended this meeting in a casual dress code manner!

There were some major players in attendance from the large medical provider groups, UK oil and gas as well as the faculty of IRHC. The most important question which I needed to clarify, before I departed with my hard earned cash was ‘What can the IRHC do for me as a medic’!    As a confirmed sceptic I had two major areas of concern of two other subjects:  Will the IRHC be seen by smaller companies we work for as an “organisation of labour” in short a medics union and secondly, why do we need a register!

It has been my experience that there are numerous medics roles advertised, but when you are appointed to that role, it is so divorced from remote medicine. In the past I have sold sweets and cigarettes, done photocopying and been expected to be the rig secretary, training officer and then fit in seeing patients. I do not want to be a general admin clerk with a flair for medicine; I want to be a professional medic!  I am saddened to report that within my career, have taken over from medics with drawers full of dangerously out of date drugs and stretchers that are so corroded and old that I would not even use them for training; yet the Medic I am standing in for is considered the best Medic ever because he arranged a training course and sold them something from the bond.  I must stress this is not the normal, but it’s unregulated and Medics need to accountable, I hope the IRHC can step up to the mark.

So to discuss this with senior members of IRHC and discover a similar view on what the role of a medic should be was refreshing. It appears to me that other organisations are far too busy to help the IRHC achieve registration status; the Health Professionals council (HPC) are far too busy making sure that the general public are protected when requiring quality health care from the NHS.  It seems to me that the HSE see this as something they would support, but why should they use their finite resources when there are some very big pockets in the industry with financial backing who should stump up some cash to support registration.

A lot of hard work has obviously gone into the IRHC with a lot of reputations being put on the line to establish a “fit for purpose” organisation and that will (it says) improve the standard of the medic’s in our chosen field as well as please the industry.

The IRHC need to support the need for registration, otherwise they will continue to recruit “poor quality” medics.   The industry, IRHC and HSE as well as ourselves, need to fully accept change. This is a very tall order and everyone has an opinion that is relevant, however, I was the only Medic there! Not one of my fellow medics, all of whom I know have an opinion, failed to step up to the mark and an afternoon of their time to influencing change.  In fact sometimes it is hard to get a word in edgeways and too often than not, our companies fail to listen, but here is a forum we can use to influence change! OK so my company paid for the flight, but there a lot of medics in the Aberdeen area and this meeting was no great secret. I have suggested that any new member’s forums should take place in interesting medical venues in cities where budget airways operate to try and improve attendance and feedback. I hope the attendance of Medics will improve as we are the reason the IRHC exists, to support us, our professional status and the people we consult with.

I know I am not the only medic who thinks registration of medics and training providers is a good idea.  This will ultimately improve standards by cutting out some of the poorer quality medics and downright dangerous operators in the remote medical world. It would also mean that the better the medic and the stronger organisation we have behind us, the better our lives as medics will be. There is a real opportunity for us to raise the medic profile but only if there is support from the ordinary members, will our role be respected within the various industries we work in.

The overall impression I had was this is our best chance we have of making the medics role respected by the client companies in the same way as the ‘Safety Officer’ or ‘Maintenance Supervisor’. If we do not let this organisation fly, we will be absorbed into other roles (in some companies this is already happening.) Membership / registration may even be reflected in our pay packet.

So where are the rest of you! Feedback is needed so get emailing if you don’t want it, say so, if you do, then read up about it and question it, just don’t give into the apathy we have seen so many times in the past.  Finally, let’s see you at the next meeting!

Simon Harvey Offshore Medic Transocean and IRHC Affiliate Member

Sean McGowan Transocean North Sea

Members Present :

Mark Fleetwood FrontierMedex, Ross Haworth Abermed, Dr Alison Carrol Abermed, Kevin Avengelista Capita Energy, Simon Harvey Transocean, Dr . . . → Read More: IRHC External Advisory Group Meeting Wed 12th October 2011]]> A meeting took place of the External Advisory Committee of the Institute of Remote HealthCare at the Council Chamber of the Medio – Churgical Society, Forresterhill, Aberdeen, on the 12^th Oct 2011.

Chairman :

Sean McGowan Transocean North Sea

Members Present :

Mark Fleetwood FrontierMedex, Ross Haworth Abermed, Dr Alison Carrol Abermed, Kevin Avengelista Capita Energy, Simon Harvey Transocean, Dr Graham Furness UK Oil and Gas.

IRHC Council Representatives:

Dr Mark Cheesman , Prof Graham Page, Alan Kennedy-Bolam

During the meeting several discussions points were forwarded to the Chairman, which require the IRHC Council to resolve.

Actions to be taken by the Council:

1.  It was noted that the Council should be more transparent and that information should be shared to all members through different media.  When using the Website for communication, it was felt developments should not be exclusive to the “Members area” as this may detract potential members from taking up IRHC membership.

 

2. The attendees at the meeting felt there was a need to update the IRHC Council agenda and to communicate and review the IRHC work stream plans at each advisory meeting.

 

3. With recent developments in confirming the different methods of registration, the committee felt the best route and opportunity for registration exists with the CHRE (Council for Healthcare Regulatory Body) and the IEAG wish the IRHC Council to investigate this further.

 

4. The frequency of the IEAG was discussed and it was generally felt that six month meetings were not frequent enough and there was a consensus the meetings should be increased to quarterly.

 

5. There is a separate working group discussing “Medics Competency”.  Some of the IEAG members have attended this meeting and many of the points raised were similar to IRHC deliberations.  At present the “Medics Competency” Working group has written to the HSE expressing concerns with the current structure of HSE Guidance and asked for a method of registering medics with a governing organisation.  Sean McGowan will be meeting with Dr Ashan Saleem (HSE Inspector) next week and will take the opportunity to request a joint meeting between the HSE, The Competency Group and the IRHC.

 

6. The attendees spoke about the IEAG and it was commonly agreed that we should try to ensure we have a good representation of individuals at each meeting from the following groups: Medics, O&G Operators, Drilling Contractors, Service Providers, Training Organisations, Industry bodies and IRHC Individual Members.  This can be achieved by forward planning, good communications and publicity.

 

7. The last action point was to promote the IRHC as much as possible.  We will shortly be in a position to give short presentations on both Capita and Abermed Rig Medic Courses.  In addition it was also discussed that we should allow the Journal of the IRHC to be placed in accredited training venues.  We also discussed funding may be an issue that we need to address.

 

FrontierMEDEX (Company profile) FrontierMEDEX is a global medical, safety and security solutions provider. At a time when our world faces growing environmental and political instability, . . . → Read More: FrontierMEDEX Renewes IRHC Corporate Membership]]>

“FrontierMEDEX have recently renewed their IRHC Corporate Membership Subscription as a demonstration of confidence in the IRHC’s ongoing development in the areas of “Remote Healthcare Practitioner” ™ research, education and professional development.

FrontierMEDEX (Company profile)
FrontierMEDEX is a global medical, safety and security solutions provider. At a time when our world faces growing environmental and political instability, we deliver a fully integrated solution focused on prevention, intervention and response. This is to enable organizations and governments to achieve their global ambitions, fulfill their duty of care to staff and operate more effectively and profitably.

FrontierMEDEX delivers:

· a world class, worldwide assistance infrastructure

· first-world standards of primary and emergency medical care in remote and hazardous locations

· a strengthened global network of practising medical specialists and resources

· robust medical, safety and security protocols

· emergency medical and security evacuation and crisis response capabilities

· extensive travel intelligence, insurance and protection services

· specialist technical and operational health and safety expertise

www.frontiermedex.com

IRHC  Symposium,

Venue : The Aberdeen Medico-Chirurgical Society

Medical School · Foresterhill · Aberdeen AB25 2ZD

Thursday, 24th February, 2011

Symposium start: 14.00 hours

Following the consultation of delegate attendees and publication of the proceedings of the IRHC symposium ( 30th September . . . → Read More: IRHC Symposium 24th February 2011]]> Standards in Offshore Medicine on the UKCS, Suggestions for CPD, assessment, revalidation ,and registration of RHPs (Remote HealthCare Practitioners)”.

IRHC  Symposium,

Venue : The Aberdeen Medico-Chirurgical Society

Medical School · Foresterhill · Aberdeen AB25 2ZD

Thursday, 24th February, 2011

Symposium start: 14.00 hours

Following the consultation of delegate attendees and publication of the proceedings of the IRHC symposium ( 30^th September 2010) on “standards in remote medicine” and the interest this generated among IRHC members of all grades it seems appropriate to follow this up with a second symposium on proposals for developments in education and registration for Remote HealthCare Practitioners ( RHP’s)  working in both the UKCS and Internationally. This should allow education providers to determine the needs and views of both the remote practitioners and their employers in designing the educational process.   Associated with this will be a discussion on regulation and registration since this is a topic of specific interest which has gained support across the industry.

Click here to see more information including IRHC Symposium programme, and register for the event….

With the birth of the offshore oil industry in Aberdeen came a set of difficult and unforeseen challenges to the Scottish medical profession. In Search of Remote Health Care follows the response of the health industry to these . . . → Read More: In Search of Remote Health Care Book]]> IRHC President Prof. Nelson Norman’s new book “In Search of Remote Health Care” will be coming out very soon.

With the birth of the offshore oil industry in Aberdeen came a set of difficult and unforeseen challenges to the Scottish medical profession. In Search of Remote Health Care follows the response of the health industry to these challenges, from the first steps in supporting deep-sea divers to the foundation of a new system of remote medicine that would be successfully exported around the world.

Prof. Norman describes how Aberdeen became a centre of excellence for this new discipline, and how the dedicated doctors and nurses from around Scotland came to be regarded as amongst the foremost authorities on remote medicine, attracting attention from industry, universities and international bodies such as the British Antarctic Survey. He documents the difficulties of setting up an entirely new system of medicine, while remembering the professionals who were so instrumental in improving the health care of people living and working in remote communities world-wide.

This Month’s IRHC Event !!!

IRHC Symposium Topic: “Standards in Offshore Medicine on the UKCS”.

Venue: Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen.

Date: 30th . . . → Read More: IRHC Symposium]]> Autumn 2010 will see the launch of a number of IRHC seminars for members detailing current medical problems and issues of interest and it is hoped that members will suggest topics for discussion and offer papers for discussion.

This Month’s IRHC Event !!!

IRHC Symposium Topic: “Standards in Offshore Medicine on the UKCS”.

Venue: Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen.

Date: 30th September 2010

Time: 12.00pm – 17.00 pm

Papers/presentations include

* “Introduction and aims of IRHC”

* “Reflections on the UK Offshore Medic role”

* “The Aberdeen A & E experience”

* “Offshore Medicine on the UKCS: Standards and Current Practise”

* Open Discussion: “The case for further standard setting, professional membership for offshore medics, and improved governance.”

(Symposium only open to IRHC individual and corporate members.)

Join IRHC as a member by 15th September and be entitled to free entry to the IRHC Symposium.