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Welcome to our latest guest blog where we’ve been chatting to James Griffiths, General Manager of Ocean Operations for Scenic Group and finding out more about what happens behind the scenes in order to keep a fleet of luxury expedition ships running.

Fact: Women are dying because bystanders are less likely to carry out CPR on women than men. Research shows that women are 27% less likely to receive CPR than men and if a defibrillator is used, their chance of survival is affected by bra’s being left on.

Women’s health is a huge topic, while it’s true that in the maritime sector women make up just 2% of seafarers at sea, up to 34% of the shore based staff are female. Looking at the bigger picture, women’s health directly affects just under half of our population globally, and indirectly (whether you like it or not!) the other half, we thought it was worth a blog about some of the issues, and the taboo’s, that could be affecting our maritime workforce and the women in our live

The Safety of Lives at Sea (SOLAS) Convention in its successive forms is generally regarded as the most important of all international treaties concerning the safety of merchant and other vessels.

According to the UKs National Institute for Clinical Excellence, (NICE: https://www.nice.org.uk/), ships being on the water for months at a time mean that health can be a life-threatening challenge for sailors and seafarers.

Skill fade is a very real issue, and we know that setting up drills and practice scenarios when you’re back in your environment, with your kit and crew, can make a massive difference.

According to the WHO, diabetes is a chronic, metabolic disease which is characterised by elevated levels of blood glucose (or blood sugar). Over time, this leads to serious damage to the heart, blood vessels, eyes, kidneys and nerves. 

Reflective practice first developed in medicine, teaching and social work as a way to learn from real life experiences. It’s your way of thinking about everything that has happened in an incident, event or time frame and what went right and wrong. It’s the opportunity to ask yourself whether you would or could do anything differently if faced with the same situation again.

It’s well known that New Year resolutions don’t last. Forbes magazine tells us that 21% don’t make their resolution stick for even a month. While 34% state that it lasted for between one and three months.  

The definition of Burnout is ‘a state of emotional, physical and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. It occurs when you feel overwhelmed, emotionally drained and unable to meet constant demands.’ 

Earlier this year, we asked some of our followers about what they would recommend as their top 10 items to make up a medical kit. We received some great answers from the lovely folks out there, and the post generated some fabulous discussion and experience-based advice. 

Just check out our quick guide below - taking in a whirlwind tour of the most common causes of chest pain that our team have treated.

Fractures are common injuries onboard ships and most can be prevented by adhering to safe working practices and avoiding over consumption of alcohol.

You are on an offshore installation with a man overboard incident, involving a 25m fall and some contact with structure. An Emergency Response Rescue Vessel (standby vessel) in close standby launches a Fast Rescue Craft. The FRC is alongside the casualty and the casualty recovered in 9 minutes with the FRC delivering your casualty onboard in 14 minutes.

Back pain is widespread in the adult population and the NHS estimates that 80% of adults will suffer from back pain at some time in their life, though it’s rarely a sign of a serious underlying issue. Back pain is the 3rd most common visit to a doctor after skin and joint problems and is the cause of over 12 million working days being lost due to sickness every year. 

In a previous life I rode horses. All day, every day for as long as I can remember and to the point of obsession. I promise there’s a tenuous link to working in the maritime industry…

Learning how to handover a casualty is an integral part of all Red Square Medical training courses. Scenario based training means that you get the opportunity to assess a situation, think about the injuries or illness a person may be suffering, take a history and monitor vital signs, managing them to the best of your ability, before handing over. 

The regulations pertaining to the carriage of Controlled Drugs on board are not always understood by vessels. Usually because they are not familiar with how it is done and are just trying to interpret the regulations the best they can.

Thinking about the things I’ve learned over the years and the wide variety of people that I have been taught by, worked with, led and been led by reminded me of the great nuggets of advice that I’ve picked up over the years.

A normal human core temperature is around 37 degrees centigrade. But if it drops below 35 degrees, it becomes a medical emergency.