Any ham operator who is involved in traffic handling for any maritime mobile net could, at any time, be faced with directing radio communications involving a medical priority or a medical emergency situation. It could be anything from seasickness to a life-threatening medical emergency at sea. It is imperative that all Radio Amateurs become familiar with appropriate protocols and techniques for passing, coordinating, and interjecting comments during medical traffic handling and general medical subject discussions with the victim/patient of the condition. Similarly, it is as important to become familiar with some of the problems and pitfalls that can happen when passing and coordinating medical traffic.
WHAT IS IT LIKE FOR THOSE WHO ARE ON THE VESSEL?
Try to know the situation on the vessel. Do you have access to the vessel equipment inventory in the event that Search and Rescue authorities are called to assist? Is the victim single-handing the vessel, or is he/she accompanied by a partner or spouse? How many people are on board? What is the weather situation? Are the vessel's batteries going to hold out long enough to pass the necessary traffic? What is the condition of the victim? These are all important questions, because they all can add up to the stress level being felt by either the victim or the victim's partner. If the victim is incapacitated, it may leave the victim's partner with no choice but to handle the vessel alone while also trying to be the caretaker of the victim. This can also lead to the able-bodied party on-board to be sleep-deprived or rest-deprived.
Having a good idea of the the situation on-board, and hence, the possible stress level of the parties on the vessel, will help you to understand the importance of these factors when considering the rest of this discussion.
STRESS AND SLEEP DEPRIVATION
When a victim or a victim's partner/caretaker is under stress and/or sleep deprivation due to a medical or injury condition which they have little control over, a certain element of fear can also come into play. These elements, added up, can lead to the victim or caretaker being far more open to suggestion than would normally be the case. For this reason, it is very important that all parties in communication with the victim/caretaker be very careful about what is said on-frequency. MOST IMPORTANTLY, it is imperative that any Radio Amateur in contact with the victim/patient/caretaker on-board know whether or not the victim/patient/caretaker is "currently under medical advisement"
If they are under medical advisement, then no other MEDICAL advice should be given to them, and the condition should not specifically be named. If the victim or caretaker have already been advised on-air by a Medical Doctor, then they probably have the information they need. Remember that they are most likely more open to suggestion due to stress and rest deprivation than would normally be the case, and they may not be able to properly sort out the information they should be using from the information they should be discarding.
Before you offer advice or even make a comment to another ham about the condition of the victim/patient, it is best to ask the caretaker or victim directly "Are you currently under medical advisement?" If they ARE under medical advisement over the air, then do not refer to the condition specifically if you can avoid it. It would be best to simply refer to the condition as a "medical condition" rather than a "broken rib", for example. Remember that just one incorrect reference to the condition in the midst of a host of Ham Operators of which one or more could also be M.D.'s, could lead to an incorrect lengthy discussion down the incorrect path which could lead to an incorrect action being taken by the stressed-out victim or caretaker on the vessel who is overly open to suggestion.
I committed this very mistake recently which led to a medical discussion going down the wrong path while the stressed and very tired caretaker was listening. Luckily no damage was done, but the potential is there, especially since we do not encounter this situation often enough to be well practiced at it.
As we strive to get better at serving the communication needs of the sailing vessels on the high seas, we will make mistakes, but it is important that we use the mistakes to further improve what we do.
Robert Reed A.R.S. N6HGG
Humboldt Bay, California