Medical Emergencies at Sea
A glimpse into what happens when Medivac is required
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Dear Readers,
This is a relatively short post and completely unscheduled. As some of you know, I am on a cruise vacation heading to Iceland for a much-needed break. I will have some interesting new travel content from this trip, so stay tuned.
However, we had a slight disruption during our voyage, and I thought some of you might be interested in hearing about the circumstances.
In short, someone onboard our cruise ship had a medical emergency that required advanced medical attention.
The Importance of Travel Medical Insurance
It has been said frequently over the last few years that the popularity of cruising vacations have increased exponentially since the pandemic. It is also known that medical emergencies can happen anytime, even when you are on vacation. Because of this and their associated costs, it is highly recommended that when you do travel, you carry some form of medical insurance.
I have previously written a post on the importance of travel insurance, and as I witnessed a medical emergency first-hand on a cruise, I feel even stronger about the need to carry such insurance.
So, let me fill you in on a few details and give you a glimpse into what happens when there is an emergency onboard a cruise ship.
What Medical Facilities Are On Cruise Ships?
If you are not aware, cruise ships have a medical facility onboard with essential services to cover most medical emergencies. Doctors, nurses, some testing facilities, and some medications are all available onboard. Also, in the event of a tragedy, there is also a morgue.
Unfortunately, because cruises attract an older clientele, the death rate on cruise ships is about 200 deaths per year. Most are from natural causes but, the figure may be higher since some ships may not record deaths accurately.
If there is an emergency and the person survives but requires more advanced care than the ship can provide, a medication evacuation (Medivac) will become necessary.
We have all seen these types of situations in the news.
Yesterday, we had an emergency on my cruise.
So What Happened?
Our ship traveled through the North Sea, and approached the passage between the Orkney and the Shetland Islands in northern Scotland. A passenger onboard became ill; unfortunately, the passenger's condition was such that an air rescue was necessary.
Remember that we are several hundred kilometres away from the closest land mass. The medical facilities on the Shetland Islands did not have the advanced care that the patient needed, so the Coast Guard was called to assist.
How Did This Affect the Cruise Ship?
Once the ship's medical team contacted the Captain and informed him of the passenger's condition, the Captain notified the Coast Guard and began the corrective measures that would provide the quickest and most efficient solution to remove the passenger from the ship.
With the plan in motion, the Captain announced to all passengers that there was a medical emergency and that the ship would assist in obtaining the best care for the passenger.
The ship would make a U-turn to shorten the distance between it and the approaching helicopter. Rotating a ship this size in slight to moderate seas and moderate winds took approximately 30 minutes.
The second reason for changing the ship's position is to use the ship's mass as a windbreak to protect the hovering helicopter in the evacuation procedure.
Luckily, our ship has a helipad, but it is not large enough for the helicopter to land; therefore, it can only hover and extract the passenger. Due to this method, correct wind speed and direction are crucial for the ease of operation and the safety of both passenger and Coast Guard crew. It should be noted that not all cruise ships are equipped with helipad facilities.
Once the helicopter was in position, the patient was winched aboard and flown to Aberdeen for the required treatment.
Getting the Ship Back on Course
Getting the ship back on course involved rotating the ship ninety degrees once again and setting the compass in the correct direction.
The total time it took for the ship to change direction, come to almost a complete stop during the extraction, rotate again, and revert to its original course was about 3.5 hours.
Luckily, the seas were calm throughout the night so the Captain could increase speed and achieve the destined course itinerary and the ship would not lose time getting to the next port of call in Iceland.
Conclusion
The Captains on a cruise ship take their jobs very seriously and are well-trained for any emergency at sea. In addition, they have many well-trained staff to assist them. They understand the importance of communicating emergency situations to all passengers and crew in a way that preserves the dignity of the injured patient while satisfying the curiosity of the other passengers onboard the cruise ship.
Bottom line, always carry travel medical insurance and pray you don't have a medical emergency. But if you do, know you will always be in the best hands in the worst circumstances.
Well done, Captain and crew, on the Celebrity Silhouette!!
Years ago I worked on cruise ships and we had exactly this when my friend became extremely ill and had to be airlifted off at night.
She was taken to Miami and met up with her 10 days later, she still had black eyes as she had been severely concussed.
Often on a certain cruise liner the morgue would overflow which was weird as the refrigerated compartments for food had emptied so bodies would be stored there!
So many stories to share!
My husband’s brother in law was chief medical examiner over all Princess Cruise ships in the 90s. He always had interesting stories as he worked his way up from ship doctor (the Love Boat!) for 15 years. They were cruising off Vietnam coast and passenger required an emergency hysterectomy! She was airlifted to some mainland and he told the husband that they’d be responsible for the Medivac cost. Her husband said, I’ve got med. insurance w/my Visa. Paul’s bro-in-law said, little does he know that only a Platinum AmEx card will be responsible for the costs. We immediately signed up for AmEx platinum card to ensure no problems in our travels along with medical ins. Things may well have changed but it was an eye opener for me. Read the fine print!! Some insurers better than others.