IN THIS ISSUE

Medical Director's Desk

New Partners - The First Call 24/7 support

New office - Ft Lauderdale, Florida, USA

New Doctors - Club de Mar

NEW Agents - France & Holland

NEW Tender Medical Box & Traction Splint

Matrix Lloyd Sponsorship

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• Medical Director's Desk 

If change is stimulating for the human constitution, then here at Ocean Medical International we must have the constitution of oxen. Since our last newsletter there have been big changes in my personal situation with Jane and I moving back to Sydney, where I have been appointed an Associate Professor and Director of the University Health Service at Sydney University. We both remain heavily involved with Ocean Medical International. Jane has an expanded role managing the accounts and I will continue with the overseeing of operations and development of our products.

The move from Mallorca has meant we are no longer able to provide the telephone medical advice service as before. However, I am delighted to announce that this service will now be provided by The First Call, a highly regarded and experienced medical advice and emergency evacuation service operating from Aberdeen in Scotland. For existing clients we have negotiated an advantageous deal, of which more can be found elsewhere in this newsletter. We are confident that The First Call will continue to provide the highest standard of telephone medical advice. I encourage all of our clients to have a serious look at what The First Call has to offer for this essential service.

As some of you will know Dr David Irons has been looking after things in Mallorca.  From 01 April the medical practice at Club de Mar in Palma de Mallorca, including MCA medicals and MCA courses, will be taken over by the husband/wife team of Drs Ken and Rosie Prudhoe. Both experienced general practitioners, Ken has also been an MCA Approved Doctor in the north-east of England for many years, and also I know the availability of a female doctor will be appreciated by some!

We are pleased to announce that new agents have been appointed in Holland and the South of France. Discussions are being held for agency representation in Italy and, at the time of writing, plans are well advanced for the opening of an Ocean Medical International office in Florida.

With our increased sales power, we have been able to negotiate an even better price for our defibrillator package, which we hope will encourage more boats to add this life-saving piece of equipment to their medical supplies.

I am writing this as I watch the diverse craft on Sydney Harbour and it makes me realise once more how fortunate we all are to be involved with such a great industry. As the Mediterranean season starts to get underway I wish you good sailing and hope your sea change is as good as ours.

Dr Ian Marshall,  Medical Director

·  New Partners - The First Call - 24/7 Emergency support

Up until now we have provided this service in the following way:
Our Medical Directors are on call 24/7 to provide assistance. The service is provided on an ad-hoc basis, with a fee per-situation, as and when it is needed.
As a result of Dr Marshall´s re-location down under we are now going to provide a more comprehensive service and facility.
We have partnered with, The First Call (www.thefirstcall.com), who are highly experienced in providing medical assistance to the maritime community. They are a major call centre located in a hospital with doctors and trauma surgeons on hand.
We have negotiated exclusive rates through us.  The normal annual fee is £400, however for all our current clients, the first year initial sign up fee is £200. There is a fee per call/situation of £165. You are not obliged to sign up with this service but it is highly recommended and is more than 2/3^rd less in cost to other vendors who provide this service.  The previous way we provided this service was discontinued from April 1^st 2007.

Please let us know if you wish to sign-up for this essential support service, if you have not done so already..

• New Ft Lauderdale, Florida Office

After much winter planning, we are proud to announce the opening of our new office in Ft Lauderdale, Florida.  Located in the Ft Lauderdale Marine Centre, off Marina Mile, the office will be managed by local native, Rebecca Castellano, an experienced nurse and yachting professional.  If you are visiting & cruising in US waters, we are able to assist with medical kit updates locally.  No more shipping and agent fees due to shipping from Europe.

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•  New  Doctors, Club de Mar, Palma, Mallorca

We welcome to the team, Dr Ken & Rosie Prudhoe, who now run the Club de Mar Medical Centre. They are available for crew medicals and will continue with crew medical training once a month at the Mallorca Sea School Classroom at Puerto Portals, as normal.  Inquiries and bookings can be made at Tel:+34 639 949 125, Fax: +34 971 400 705. E-mail: kenprudhoe@blueyonder.co.uk

• Fax number Change

Our fax number has changed, the new number is +34 971 702 385

• New Agents - Antibes, France & Amsterdam, Holland

We welcome to the ever broadening Ocean Medical network, two new Agents.  In France, John Cookson of Yacht Shopping in Antibes & in Holland, Harmannus Timmer of Marine Partners.  If you are cruising the South coast of France or conducting a refit in Holland, please feel free to contact our local Agents for assistance.

·  New Tender Medical Box, Traction Splint & Instruction Sheets

We have re-designed the contents & provided a new storage container for the Tender Medical Box.  Following feedback from Captains & crew, the contents are now stored in a durable, watertight, bright orange storage box. Within the box, there are four individually labeled waterproof bags categorized - Dressings, Medications, Instruments, Disinfection & Burns, for provision of basic First Aid treatment. 

For all MCA compliant vessels, please note that a Traction Splint has been added to the OMI MCA Class A & Class B kits.  When you conduct your next kit update, we can automatically include this item.  Please let us know if you require the splint.   

In the past year, we have added 3 new one-page laminated instruction cards to the medical kit. 1. Grab Bag middle section, for Class A kits  - Fluid giving Instructions for IV bag.  2. Grab Bag front flap section - Summary of new CPR rules. 3. Oxygen bag/kit – Oxygen usage and Instructions

• Matrix Lloyd Sponsorship

Co-director of yacht consultants and managers MatrixLloyd SL to tackle Europe’s highest peaks in aid of an Argentinean community charity

Captain Justin Newcomb, co-director of consultants MatrixLloyd and Doog Menzies, an engineer with PalmaWatch, will be spending June in the high Alps, climbing unsupported some of the world’s best known mountains, to raise money for the charity Alimentar Ensenando.

The MatrixLloyd Alpine Expedition 2007 will consist of three weeks of intensive Alpine-style mountain climbing. The team plan to reach the summit of both Mont Blanc, via one of the hardest routes, and the Matterhorn.

The expedition involves months of preparation and physical training. Often just to get all the equipment to a suitable base camp takes a huge amount of effort, hauling 25kg rucksacks over glaciers and ridges. A common summit day will involve departing the tent at around 0100hrs in sub-zero conditions. To complete a safe ascent and decent can then take as long as 18 hours.

It is as much of a mental challenge as a physical one. The Italian ascent of Mont Blanc is a great deal tougher than the other relatively easy routes, involving four days of lugging equipment and provisions up steep faces of snow, ice and rock, with the constant danger of falling debris, all at breathless altitudes above 15,000ft.

Companies are invited to make a donation to MatrixLloyd’s dedicated charity account. Major donors can have their logo featured on the expedition’s clothing and flag, which will be carried to the summit of the Matterhorn. The flag will be displayed at various functions including the Pinmar Golf Tournament dinner, where a traditional ice axe will also be auctioned.

About the charity Alimentar Ensenando

The charity Alimentar Ensenando helps extremely impoverished children in Argentina. The main aim is to improve the appalling malnutrition endemic in the area, then to provide education and trade skills, and ultimately to generate self-sufficiency and self-respect.

The charity is driven by Dr David Irons of Ocean Medical International. David spent four months in Argentina providing medical services and developing a medical screening system. At the last count over 120,000 children had been screened. Average income locally amounts to only US$20 per month for a family of between 10 and 18. Such extreme poverty has a devastating effect on the children's health and society in general. The charity relies on donations to maintain this vital work.

Captain Justin Newcomb, co-director of MatrixLloyd SL, commented:

“Alpine climbing is all about preparation and teamwork. I know Doog Menzies very well, having climbed with him for years. I have every confidence in him and he in me. The type of climbing stretches your mind and body to the limit. The training started several months ago.

“Working as we do with the owners of large yachts, it’s great to be able to help those in a less fortunate position from time to time as well.

Dr David Irons has been a close friend for many years and he and his company, Ocean Medical International, is well known to the yachting community. It was David’s idea that we should help this charity, with which he has had hands-on involvement. I trust David’s judgment 100%. He knows what we are undertaking and has every confidence in us, which is great.”

Benjamin Maltby, co-director of MatrixLloyd SL, commented:

“It’s not going to be easy running our busy office without Justin’s key input, but we have the systems in place to cope. What I am most grateful for is the generous support from our expanding client base.

“Most of our clients remember Justin from his days as the busy but reliable yacht captain: his practical input forms the backbone of our business so it’s great for him to be able to demonstrate that he can organize and carry out such a specialist and dangerous project.

“Of course, he’ll still be fielding calls from me if the need arises, but then our service runs on a 24/7 basis and our clients have come to expect nothing less.”