Expedition Safety and Medicine
Expedition safety is one of the most important aspects of planning a trip to a remote place and needs to be started well in advance. All expeditions should appoint a Medical Officer to organise all aspects of keeping expedition members safe and well. This page is intended to offer some preliminary guidance on organizing a safe trip.
1. Finding a Medical Officer
Expedition Medical Officers need not have any specific background in medicine, however, some experience may be useful. All Medical Officers must undertake the appropriate training as detailed below.
The Osler-Green Wilderness Medical Society may be able to help you find suitable candidates for Expedition Medical Officers. See their group on Facebook or contact them for further advice.
2. Expert advice
It is vital that this is sought out as soon as you know your destination so you can act on the advice you receive. This may come in the form of written advice (e.g. a book like the Royal Geographical Society’s Expedition Medicine, by Warrell & Anderson) or verbal advice from a doctor. They will need to know where you are going, for how long, what you’ll be doing when you’re there and how far from help you will be.
Medical Officers of University approved expeditions should make an appointment with the University Occupational Health Service (01865 282676). They will give written advice regarding any vaccinations and prescription drugs you need to take.
3. Vaccinations
Because some vaccinations need several doses over the space of a few weeks, these need to be arranged in plenty of time too. Don’t forget that some vaccinations can make you feel a bit ill for a day or so afterwards, so make sure you don’t make an appointment near exams. You will need to budget for these as they can be expensive (e.g. rabies is £25 a shot and you need three shots).
University expeditions can make an appointment for these with the University Occupational Health Service, who will sign you off as having had the appropriate vaccinations, but expeditions will have to cover the costs themselves.
4. Medical Kit
What you need depends on:
- The number of people on your expedition
- How long you are going for
- Where you’re going
- What you will be doing there
- The time it will take for help to reach you
- The level of skills of expedition members
Medical Officers of approved expeditions should consult the OUEC Medical Officer to discuss the kit contents. Non-prescription items can be purchased through the club, which should be cheaper than a high street pharmacy. Personal medicines should be obtained from your own GP.
5. First Aid Training
All expedition members need to have at least a basic knowledge of First Aid and at least one member (preferably two) should have completed a course in more advanced First Aid for remote areas, such as the Wilderness Medical Training course (see www.wildernessmedicaltraining.co.uk for more details).
ALL members of University expeditions need to attend a First Aid course. Medical Officers should liase with the OUEC medical Officer Tariq Qureshi to organise dates, preferably during Hilary Term. Expeditions typically require two 3 hour sessions in which to cover basic life saving skills and problems specific to your expedition. In addition, the Medical Officer and preferably at least one more member should attend the Wilderness Medical Training Course. The Oxford University First Aid Unit’s Director of Training will sign off expedition members once both basic and WMT courses have been completed. Approval will be withdrawn if expedition members do not attend the required courses.
6. Camp Hygiene
Making sure that expedition members remain healthy is the most important role of the Medical Officer. Books such as the aforementioned Expedition Medicine can offer good advice on how to organise your camp, prevent water supplies from becoming contaminated and the tricky question of how to deal with human waste. Expeditions have a responsibility to the environment too: make sure you leave as little trace of your presence as possible.
University Expeditions MUST meet the following standards or approval will be withdrawn.
For more information please e-mail the OUEC Medical Officer Tariq Qureshi, via ouec@herald.ox.ac.uk |
