The Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment’s Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) has channelled medical expertise honed over decades in Antarctic into a new facility on Australia’s new icebreaker, RSV Nuyina.
Expeditionary Medical Officer with AAD, Mal Vernon said the ship’s medical facility had an emergency room, operating theatre, X-ray machine, consulting room and a two-bed ward, all with telemedicine links, situated on the same level as the helideck for ease of patient transport.
Dr Vernon said the top priority of the doctors on board that RSV Nuyina remained free of COVID-19.
“At full capacity, RSV Nuyina will carry a total of 149 people on long voyages for months on end in some of the most extreme and unforgiving environments on Earth,” Dr Vernon said.
“People being unwell on a ship can have big knock-on effects,” he said.
“In a month at sea a lot can happen, particularly in Antarctica where you’re remote.”
Dr Vernon said the ship also had state-of-the art polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing for COVID, which had a turnaround time of 40 to 50 minutes from patient to result.
The Medical Officer said along with treating sea-sickness and minor injuries, the ship’s medical facility had the capability for blood transfusions, general anaesthetics and surgery with telemedicine support from the Polar Medicine Unit and specialists on land.
“We are not alone, and the limits of what we can do depends on the experience of the practitioner,” he said.
“With telemedicine support, we can respond to most emergencies,” Dr Vernon said.
