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Superyacht Paramedic - a guest blog from Simon Lawton

We know that an increasing number of Superyachts are making the decision to include a healthcare professional, such as a Paramedic, onboard. So, we asked Simon Lawton, a Paramedic/Deck Hand to give us an overview of what this relatively new role involves.

“Before making the move to the Superyacht industry, I worked for West Midlands Ambulance Service in the UK, as an HCPC (Health and Care Professions Council) registered Paramedic. I worked frontline on an emergency ambulance and was a Paramedic Mentor, with responsibility for taking students from their first day right through to registration.

I fell into working on yachts purely by chance in September 2019. The idea of working at sea was mentioned during a brief telephone call, bizarrely while I was organising payment processing for my own business (CBD Supreme Ltd). I had never been aware of the opportunities for Paramedics to work at sea but it appealed straight away and I looked into it. First I spoke to a crew agent who gave me advice about courses and CVs. Then, following completion of the required courses, I posted on a yacht crew group on Facebook, and I was on board the yacht within the month! 

The courses that were needed were the STCW 2010 (Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping), standard for commercially rated vessels, which includes fire fighting, sea survival and basic first aid amongst other elements. In addition to this, the vessel that I joined required the Proficiency in Designated Security Duties (PDSD) and RYA Power Boat Level 2. As for all boats an ENG1 Seafarers medical is required. I also completed the VHF Short Range Radio Operator course and refreshed my PADI assistant instructor qualification which I first completed in Cyprus when I was 19 years old and working as a diver.

I currently work on a 75m motor yacht which does the Mediterranean season most summers, but travels further afield during the winter, to remote locations in areas often unvisited by most yachts. We have 29 crew, with 21 onboard when guests visit, plus the helicopter pilot. It’s the first yacht I’ve worked on and despite other offers, I’ve stayed loyal due to the epic crew and the unusual places we get to visit.

Of course, there are no regulations to require a Paramedic onboard, but more and more yacht owners are realising the advantage of having a skilled Paramedic as part of the crew. Paramedics are not only highly trained medically, but we’re problem solvers and we think outside the box. Our training means that we look at the bigger picture rather than just focusing on the presenting issue, something that can be essential in remote locations.


I started my yachting career working on a 5 month on and 1 month off basis (5:1), but have since been able to move to a 4:2 leave rota because additional time is needed to update skills and practise as a Paramedic while at home. However, many yachts now offer a time for time (2:2) rota for Paramedics as the role is becoming more understood and appreciated, especially if you have previous yachting experience.


My time was normally split as 5% medical and 95% completing deck related duties. Though this has changed to more like 10% medical and 90% deck duties since the introduction of COVID-19 testing for crew which has become a regular part of the job.


In my experience, COVID-19 has raised the profile for Paramedics on Superyachts, and the demand for clinicians as part of the crew is steadily increasing. The guests of the yacht I work on enjoy adventurous activities such as surfing and heli-skiing, where the risk of injury is higher. So the yacht has always employed a Paramedic to have on standby in case of an accident. 


The vast majority of care I provide is for minor ailments and injuries. The crew generally come to me for any and all issues that they are concerned about and though most issues are shared by the individual due to being in what’s effectively a large family unit, each case is treated with the strictest confidence medically. 


Guests can present with anything from headaches, blood pressure issues, ear problems, to cleaning and dressing cuts from coral reefs, organising medical care ashore, or in one case, in a separate country! I also frequently assess and treat gastrointestinal issues due to local food and water consumed ashore. 


As the medical officer and Paramedic onboard, I run all the medical drills and try to make them as engaging as possible. It’s important to develop the crew's confidence so they can start treatment or intervention while they are waiting for me to arrive on scene. All of the crew are qualified by me to Level 3 in first aid to make sure they are confident and competent in delivering basic first aid.

The yacht is equipped with various stretchers and immobilisation devices, including a vertical rescue stretcher that can be used to remove a casualty from enclosed or small spaces. We have an ultrasound machine, an oxygen generator and compressor as well as an advanced airways kit and controlled drugs should they be needed. 


There is a main medical store and a beauty salon which doubles up as a hospital bay. I have also strategically positioned AEDs, epipens and small medical kits throughout the yacht in the areas where they are most likely to be required at quick notice. All of the crew are aware of where these are and how to use them in an emergency. 


Our helicopter is stationed on the yacht too, and can be used to medevac a patient quickly should the worst happen and we need to get someone to definitive care.


A normal working day will be 8 hours unless we have guests onboard, in which case it’s 13 hours or more. There isn’t really a ‘typical’ day onboard this yacht. If we have guests we prepare all areas for use first thing in the morning. 


If guests wish to go ashore for a hike, to explore, or for food and drinks we will drive them ashore and and accompany them to keep a communication link between them and the yacht, and to make sure we can facilitate any requirements. We also run sunset cruises on the various tenders. 


Depending on guest requirements, we set up water sports equipment such as fly boards, wake skates, sea bobs and jet skis. Part of the job is making sure the guests know how to use the equipment and ensure they use it safely. 


Off charter, most of our time is spent maintaining the yacht and carrying out minor repairs, plus any training that is needed. When we don’t have guests, we do get the chance to go ashore during the evenings, and depending on the workload, we get weekends off providing we’re not on watch. 


My advice for anyone looking to joint yachts as a paramedic would be to investigate the industry first. Find out what is expected of you and be aware that the people you are working for are the 0.01% ultra high net worth individuals. As such expect a very high level of service and for you to work in a dual role where your medical skills are secondary. 

Find out in advance whether you’re likely to succumb to sea sickness as this can be a deal breaker!

Consider the sacrifices you’ll need to make in your personal life and remember that you need to find ways to cope with long periods away from family and friends, and times when you may be too busy for weeks on end for any sort of meaningful contact with them. When you’re employed on a yacht, most of the decisions and rules that affect you will be made by someone else. Remember that when you live and work in the same place, you are never truly off duty! It’s also essentially someone else's home.

Ensure that your skills as a healthcare professional are not taken for granted, as just another extra skill within yachting. Only accept a contract that makes allowances for the additional time you will require while at home on leave to keep your knowledge and skills up to date. It’s vital to avoid any form of skill fade and to remain compliant with your CPD and registration obligations. 

You need to be aware that the majority of your time while on the yacht will not be spent acting as a medic and you will often be required to work long hard hours. But also be aware that the job can take you to some incredible places and allow you to meet some diverse and often amazing individuals along the way. 

If you keep an open mind and continue to enhance yourself in every way you can, not only medically but also expand to yachting related or other sought after skills and qualifications (such as yachtmaster, watersports or navigation watch rating). 

I really miss not being able to utilise my Paramedic skills to the full extent. While I don’t wish harm on anyone, the limit to using skills is something that any clinician will encounter while working at sea. Therefore it’s more important than ever to keep up to date clinically and refresh competencies while on leave by additional training and agency shifts in a variety of roles. 


But in contrast, the bonds you make with your crew make up for it; quite simply because you become like family to one other. Plus we visit some very exotic places which make me grateful for the experience. 


All in all, I love the lifestyle and plan to stick with it for many years to come. So, if you like what you’ve read, just go for it. It’s one of the best adventures you might ever take, and you can get pretty well paid for it!”

Guest blog: Jordan Lin

by Rachel Smith • 08 May, 2024
At Red Square Medical, we’re keen to support those who have a passion for maritime medicine. While we can’t provide placements for everyone, occasionally a request pops up at just the right time and we can provide some experience and insight into our unique and specialised world. Last year we were contacted by Jordan Lin, a medical student with a love of the ocean. This is his story… When I was a boy, my dad and I used to go fishing with a local fisherman off the Norfolk coast. I absolutely loved being on the sea and so for quite a long time, I wanted to be a fisherman. When I got a bit older I kind of forgot about this and think I may have been slightly put off by watching the TV series ‘World’s Deadliest Catch’! But I have always loved being on the water and spent a lot of time sailing dinghies; I was also a swimming teacher for children back in high school and college. Later, I decided to study medicine and I’m now a final year medical student at the University of Bristol where I completed an intercalated degree; a Masters in Health Sciences Research. I’m now looking forward to starting work as a qualified Doctor in August. Though having spent 6 years training, my next 2 years will be spent working for the required two foundation training years that must be completed before being able to work independently as a Doctor in the UK. At university, I joined the VITA network which is a group dedicated to developing a health and public health approach at the heart of any response to human trafficking and exploitation. I became the blog coordinator for the organisation and you can read the blogs, including those that I have written, here: https://vita-network.com/blog/ In my spare time, I have been involved with the Bristol University Hot Air Ballooning Society and trained through the society to get my Balloon pilots licence. So, I often spend weekends during the summer flying in a leisurely fashion over Bristol and the surrounding area!

That Lightbulb Moment!

by Rachel Smith • 24 Apr, 2024
At Red Square Medical, we’re fascinated by the learning process - it’s key to our business after all. But we often wonder what happens when our students leave the classroom. Do they remember what they’ve learnt? What if they’re faced with a real emergency, will they know what to do? Is there a lightbulb moment when it all clicks into place? Skill fade is a very real issue, as we wrote about in this blog , 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. It’s great to get some feedback from our students too. Last year, we received photos from the Southern Ocean from a solo round the world sailor who was able to successfully steri-strip a cut eyebrow closed. Or the Captain who recognised a heart attack in a crew member because they looked just like the guy he saw in the video on one of our courses.

Worse Things Happen at Sea… a salty tale of dysentery, haemorrhoids, accidents, depression and death!

by Rachel Smith • 03 Apr, 2024
You might wonder about the title of this month’s guest blog, as Worse Things Happen at Sea is also the name of our monthly newsletter. But this month, we’re delighted to introduce Andrew Edwards as our Guest Blogger, and we felt his amazing story about life at sea really deserved a dramatic headline… Dysentery... In the summer of 1966, I was a cadet on a cargo ship that loaded in the UK for 9 ports in West, South and East Africa. Our first port of call was Luanda, the capital of Angola – which was then a colony of Portugal. Next, 300 miles down the coast we called in to Lobito – also in Angola. In Lobito two of the ship's company contracted dysentery; myself and a big Irishman called Reg. The shoreside Doctor we saw simply diagnosed the condition (amoebic dysentery) and said, ‘sorry but I have no antibiotics for this!’. Thankfully the ship’s purser stood our corner and demanded that the Doctor find some. The following day the antibiotics were flown in from the Belgian Congo. The Doctor gave us no advice as to how to deal with the condition, not a word about how contagious it was, not a word as to the importance of thoroughly washing our hands and maintaining scrupulous personal hygiene. Thankfully both Reg and I were quartered just a short sprint from the heads, and we were left to get on with it by our shipmates. It took about a week to get over the dysentery, by which time I had lost several stone in weight and was as weak as a kitten. By the time we arrived in Walvis Bay, South West Africa (now known as Namibia), a further 1000 miles south, I was just about fit enough to play football for the ship against a local team. Their football ground had a main road going right through the middle of it which made for some challenging moments, but they still beat us comfortably and they were playing in bare feet!

How does the Easter Bunny avoid Diabetes?

by Rachel Smith • 20 Mar, 2024
As it’s Easter, we thought that it would be a very appropriate time, what with all that chocolate around, to take a closer look at the subject of Diabetes and why it’s such a huge problem in the UK and across the world. The Easter Bunny always looks so cute and cuddly, but is he a diabetes case waiting to happen? Or does his diet of grass and all that hopping around for the rest of the year make an important 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. The most common is type 2 diabetes, and it usually develops with a late onset in adults. It occurs when the body becomes resistant to insulin or doesn't make enough insulin. Worryingly, in the past 3 decades the prevalence of type 2 diabetes has risen dramatically in countries of all income levels and is closely linked to obesity, poor diet, and an unhealthy lifestyle. Symptoms for type 2 diabetes are generally similar to those of type 1 diabetes (need to urinate often, thirst, constant hunger, weight loss, vision changes and fatigue), but are often less marked. As a result, the disease may be diagnosed several years after onset, after complications have already arisen. For this reason, it is important to be aware of risk factors. Effective approaches are available to prevent type 2 diabetes and to prevent the complications and premature death that can result from all types of diabetes. These include policies and practices across whole populations and within specific settings (school, home, workplace) that contribute to good health for everyone, regardless of whether they have diabetes, such as exercising regularly, eating healthily, avoiding smoking, and controlling blood pressure and lipids. Type 1 diabetes, once known as juvenile diabetes or insulin-dependent diabetes, is a chronic condition in which the pancreas produces little or no insulin by itself. Normal onset is in younger people, but can also be in adults. Symptoms of type 1 diabetes include the need to urinate often, thirst, constant hunger, weight loss, vision changes and fatigue. These symptoms may occur suddenly. Type 1 diabetes cannot currently be prevented. It’s thought to be caused by an autoimmune reaction which destroys the cells in the pancreas that make insulin. It can also be caused by genetics, viruses, trauma, tumours, removal of the pancreas or other damage to the pancreas. About 422 million people worldwide have diabetes, the majority living in low-and middle-income countries, and 1.5 million deaths are directly attributed to diabetes each year. But the number of cases and the prevalence of diabetes have been steadily increasing over the past few decades. The starting point for living well with type one or type 2 diabetes is an early diagnosis – the longer a person lives with undiagnosed and untreated diabetes, the worse their health outcomes are likely to be. Easy access to basic diagnostics, such as blood glucose testing, should therefore be available in primary health care settings. Patients will need periodic specialist assessment or treatment for complications. A series of cost-effective interventions can improve patient outcomes, regardless of what type of diabetes they may have. These interventions include blood glucose control through a combination of diet, physical activity and, if necessary, medication; control of blood pressure and lipids to reduce cardiovascular risk and other complications; and regular screening for damage to the eyes, kidneys and feet to facilitate early treatment.

Reflective Practice and why it’s so important

by Rachel Smith • 21 Feb, 2024
Well, we’ve made it to February! How are your goals for the year going so far? As you’ll know, we do love a bit of goal setting at Red Square Medical HQ. But, we also understand the importance of Reflective Practice too. Especially in relation to setting goals. Want to know more? Please read on…

Guest Blog - Sam Kelly MSA

by Rachel Smith • 07 Feb, 2024
Today we start the first in a series of blogs in conjunction with our friends at the Maritime Skills Academy, and kicking it all off is a Guest Blog from MSAs Head of Training, Sam Kelly. Sam is 37 and lives in southeast Kent, in the quaint seaside town of Deal with with his wife, two children and a ‘Golden Doodle’ called Pringle. He has lived in the area ever since his father, a serving Royal Marine at the Deal Depot, and mother decided this was the place to raise their family. And it is, quite frankly, an excellent place to live. Here is his story… I’m the Head of Training for the Maritime Skills Academy, based in our head office in Dover. I oversee a team of Maritime Safety Instructors who deliver all STCW training for seafarers. Outside the Dover base, we have MSA Gibraltar. This location is operated in partnership with the University of Gibraltar and delivers Basic Safety Training and most recently Operational Firefighting, We are actually in the process of building a state-of-the-art Fire Training Module on ‘the Rock’.

Dry January!

by Rachel Smith • 17 Jan, 2024
So Christmas seems like years ago, and we’re all well into the New Year now. Did you make any resolutions? Some love to, some don’t. At Red Square Medical HQ, we love a goal or two and think the turn of the years can be a good prompt to make some positive changes. But, 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. Is that a failure though? Or could it be all it takes to make some small changes that have a lasting impact? We thought it would be good to take a closer look at one of the most popular resolutions… Dry January! Now, let’s get one thing straight, the Red Square Medical team are not averse to a tipple or two! But as medics, we’re very aware of the short and long term benefits of giving our livers a little breather every so often. Of course, everyone responds differently to stopping drinking for a month, so the timeline below is just a guide. But it might help you to decide whether it’s a good idea to give the booze a break for a while, or work towards reducing your intake - we know it’s easy for it to creep up over time!

12 months since I left the NHS

by Rachel Smith • 03 Jan, 2024
What I miss most about the Ambulance Service… It’s been 12 months since I left the Ambulance service after 8 years of working frontline, and to be honest it’s flown by. A few weeks ago the team at Red Square Medical HQ were chatting about how life has changed in that time and what, if anything, I was missing from my former life! The list might just surprise you… Most of all, I miss my old colleagues and I definitely miss the patient contact. And driving on blue lights… that was one of the best parts of the job! Working in the ambulance service with regular partners who you get on well with really does create friendships for life. Or even doing a tricky job with someone you don’t know well provides a common bond forever. Every day you’re facing stressful situations and sometimes split second, life changing decisions. You rely on each other totally and make sure you keep each other safe in some difficult and challenging situations. I worked with 3 very different partners most of the time for my last few years and I miss them all. Happily though, I have some great new colleagues at Red Square Medical and Outreach Rescue, the other company that I work for.

Guest Blog - Rachel Smith

by Rachel Smith • 03 Jan, 2024
I was born in a tiny village in Northamptonshire but had a fairly nomadic childhood, eventually settling in the industrial town of St Helens in the north west. As a child I was horse mad, so boats never got a look in. Apparently ‘horse’ was the first word I said and despite the fact that we could never afford a horse, my dream was always to ride and work with horses. It’s perhaps an early indication of my goal-oriented side that I got a Saturday job as soon as I could. At the age of 13, I’d cycle a 12 mile round trip, twice a day, just to go and ‘muck out’ at a local farm where they bred Welsh ponies and Arab horses! There wasn’t even any riding. Later, I found myself working for the family of a young girl who would go on to represent Great Britain in dressage at the Olympics. The work was physically hard and the standards high. No corners were cut and I learnt the skills I needed the old fashioned way. I got to travel all over the UK in the branded horsebox which was pretty exciting for a teenager. But I think I will always be grateful for the solid work ethic and sense of responsibility that this job instilled in me. I always planned to leave school at 16 and go to ride racehorses. But I got quite reasonable exam results and a new degree course was announced in Equine Science and Business which changed the plan. So, after taking the required year out, when I worked in an eventing yard in Yorkshire, I started the 3 year course. For the two work placements, I opted to go abroad, to Italy and the USA, which supercharged my desire to travel. I continued working in the equestrian world for a couple more years, but the poor pay and prospects, plus a dose of pneumonia pushed me onto a different path. I got a job in telemarketing for a bank, and after putting forward the idea of finance for horses, I found myself transferred to Marketing for 6 months. 16 years later, I was still there!

Are they wearing a beer jacket??

by Rachel Smith • 20 Dec, 2023
Christmas is coming and the season of parties is upon us. Of course this means that most of us will overindulge in large amounts of luscious food and, of course, a tipple or two. At Red Square Medical HQ, we have a method of categorising drunk people. During our combined careers, we’ve dealt with more drunks than we can remember; it’s easily running into several hundred. What we’ve learnt, amongst other things, is that most people who are drunk fall into one of these categories. Now please don’t judge as it is purely observation and also makes for an interesting chat when delivering the STCW Medical training, because we all know at least one person from each category and sometimes… a person can be in multiple categories depending on many other factors, or, we might even have been there ourselves! Once we have established these categories there is a serious note to this blog so please do keep reading.
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