Mawson Medical Team

Australian Antarctic stations have a medical doctor and 4 lay surgical assistants who make up the medical team. If there is a medical emergency or a significant patient management need the doctor calls upon station staff who have been trained as surgical assistants, to help. Two staff at each station are trained as lay scrub nurses and 2 are trained as lay anaesthetic nurses.

Lay surgical assistant trainees - Macquarie Island and Mawson

Training of lay surgical assistants takes place at Royal Hobart Hospital in the surgical ward over 2 weeks prior to departure for Antarctica. My role in the medical team is as one of the anaesthetic assistant.

 During training at Royal Hobart Hospital lay surgical assistant nurses learn, in a polar medicine context, about infection control procedures, maintaining a sterile field, scrubbing and gloving, operating theatre procedures, anaesthetic procedures including drugs, setting up and monitoring machines that beep and alarm, remote emergency medical response etc.

Mawson lay surgical assistants at Royal Hobart Hospital.

The anesthetic assistant helps the anaesthetist (station doctor) manage a patient during an operation. This learning included theory and practical sessions using dummies, models and simulations. We also had time in various operating theatres working alongside surgeons and anaesthetists learning and understanding their role and what would be required of us in Antarctica for an emergency.

Emergency Muster on Helicopter deck.

 Fire and Medical emergency on the Aurora Australis.
These new medical skills are then practiced during emergency exercises involving the Fire or Search and Rescue (SAR) teams.

Burns patient safely to the surgery

Our first medical exercise was on the Aurora Australis during our voyage to Mawson. A galley explosion and fire set off the alarms and resulted in an unconscious burns victim. All on board were required to muster on the Helicopter deck in full kit ready to abandon ship if necessary.

The ships fire team quickly suppressed the fire and the medical team provided first response treatment and helped transfer the patient in a stretcher up the flights of stairs to to the ships surgery and then assessed and treated the patient.

Mawson Medical Facilities. 

Emergency resuscitation bay

Medical facilities at Mawson include a consulting and examination room, a small operating theatre and dental suite, a resuscitation bay for emergencies, a well stocked pharmacy, a 2 bed ward and small diagnostic laboratory.

Dental suite

Operating Theatre

Rod the Plumber in the resuscitation bay. (C Wilson)

Assessing a patient (C Wilson)

Fire and medical emergency exercise.

Our first training exercise at station included a fire incident at ‘Warren’ (the industrial incinerator) where Rod the plumber was seriously burnt. The exercise required the fire team to turnout in full fire gear with the fire Hagglund and manage the fire as well as rescue the burn victim and transport him to the surgery for emergency care. Rod made a miraculous recovery. The exercise was a success and highlighted areas to be improved.

Assessing the patient. (C Wilson)

Rich and Lisa on the job.

Lisa monitoring the ECG

Debrief

SAR and Medical Exercise.
Our 2nd exercise had Cotty (another plumber) failing to arrive for lunch triggering a SAR search. The outdoors search resulted in him being found cold and semi conscious potentially suffering hypothermia and from fall injuries.

Plastering a broken leg

He was located on a rock near the tank house. Doctor Rich administered first aid and managed the patient while he was stretchered to the surgery. The rest of the medical team set up the surgery for the arrival of the patient. Rich then assessed and managed the patient in the resuscitation bay with the support of the lay surgical assistants.

The patient was diagnosed with a broken leg and mild hypothermia. The break was set and plastered. After the exercise a debrief was held to determine what worked well and what could be improved.


Ongoing training.

Suturing a tendon.

Fortnightly training sessions are held for the medical team by the doctor. Training activities include setting up the surgery for an operation, setting the anaesthetic machine and ventilator, drawing up the drugs required for a particular operation, setting out the instruments and simulating procedures. Various people volunteer to be patients. Other medical training activities include practicing suturing, injections etc. The aim is that the medical team is familiar with the processes and equipment in case of an emergency. To date there have been no medical emergencies at Mawson.

Plastering practice - Lisa and Tim.

Now where is the vein.