Medical emergencies at sea: an analysis of ambulance-supported and autonomously performed operations by lifeboat crews

BMC Emergency Medicine

Research

Daphne M. Messelink¹  Joost J. L. M. Bierens²  Roos D. Flameling³  Gert-Jan van der Ploeg⁴  Theo van der Linden⁵ 

[1] Department of Internal Medicine, Ziekenhuis Groep Twente Hospital, Zilvermeeuw 1, 7609 PP, Almelo, The Netherlands;Extreme Environments Laboratory, School of Sport, Health & Exercise Science, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, UK;Regional Ambulance Service Ambulance Oost, Demmersweg 55, 7556 BN, Hengelo, The Netherlands;Regional Ambulance Service Noord-Holland Noord, Hertog Aalbrechtweg 22, 1823 DL, Alkmaar, The Netherlands;The Royal Dutch Lifeboat Institution (KNRM), Haringkade 2, 1976 CP, IJmuiden, The Netherlands;

关键词: Lifeboat crew;    Sea rescue;    Ambulance crew;    Search and rescue;    Dispatch;    Telemedicine;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12873-023-00879-7

 received in 2023-03-24, accepted in 2023-08-31,  发布年份 2023

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundVery little data is available about the involvement of lifeboat crews in medical emergencies at sea. The aim of this study is to analyze the medical operations at sea performed by the Royal Netherlands Sea Rescue Institution (KNRM).MethodsThis is a retrospective descriptive analysis of all medical operations at sea performed by the KNRM between January 2017 and January 2020. The operations were divided in three groups: with ambulance crew aboard the lifeboat, ambulance crew on land waiting for the arrival of the lifeboat, and autonomous operations (without ambulance crew involvement). The main outcome measures were circumstances, encountered medical problems, follow-up and crew departure time.ResultsThe KNRM performed 282 medical operations, involving 361 persons. Operations with ambulance crew aboard the lifeboat (n = 39; 42 persons) consisted mainly of persons with serious trauma or injuries; 32 persons (76.2%) were transported to a hospital. Operations with ambulance crew on land (n = 153; 188 persons) mainly consisted of situations where time was essential, such as persons who were still in the water, with risk of drowning (n = 45, 23.9%), on-going resuscitations (n = 9, 4.8%) or suicide attempts (n = 7, 3.7%). 101 persons (53,7%) were transported to a hospital. All persons involved in the autonomous operations (n = 90; 131 persons) had minor injuries. 38 persons (29%) needed additional medical care, mainly for (suspected) fractures or stitches. In 115 (40.8%) of all operations lifeboat crews did not know that there was a medical problem at the time of departure. Crew departure time in operations with ambulance crew aboard the lifeboat (13.7 min, min. 0, max. 25, SD 5.74 min.) was significantly longer than in operations with ambulance crew on land (7.7 min, min. 0, max 21, SD 4.82 min., p < 0.001).ConclusionThis study provides new information about the large variety of medical emergencies at sea and the way that lifeboat and ambulance crews are involved. Crew departure time in operations with ambulance crew aboard the lifeboat was significantly longer than in operations with ambulance crew on land. This study may provide useful indications for improvement of future medical operations at sea, such as triage, because in 40.8% of operations, it was not known at the time of departure that there was a medical problem.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© BioMed Central Ltd., part of Springer Nature 2023

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