Author: Barry Roberts

Read the latest CASE REPORT by Dr Duncan Gray who writes candidly about a self-inflicted machete wound.

Extract: A self-inflicted machete wound to the left knee was sustained by the author when alone in a remote area of rainforest in Guyana in January 2020. Medical kit to hand was limited. The author was not the official trip medic. With concerns about a knee joint infection developing, evacuation was arranged to a small rural hospital many hours distant. The treatment there proved to be very basic. This case explores classic wilderness medicine issues including difficult decision making, balancing the various risks involved, psychological aspects and insurance failings.

Read Travel Health Pro’s advice on obtaining medicines if stranded abroad. Two of their take home messages are to beware of falsified “fake” or substandard medicines available abroad and don’t wait until your stocks run low before trying to replenish meds (including malaria chemoprophylaxis).

Travel Health Pro is a credible source of information and is the website comprising the travel health resources of the National Travel Health Network and Centre (NaTHNaC). On 18th March they published this advice
https://travelhealthpro.org.uk/news/499/covid-19-coronavirus-general-advice-for-travellers

Congratulations to delegates Dr S Huang, Dr H Guyver, Dr B Hillam and Dr H Gibbard who attended Expedition Medicine in Chamonix last week and won the poster competition with this thoughtful poster titled Is it safe to approach? Medics and laypeople alike will find this content interesting and useful.

WMT’s Medical Director Dr Harvey Pynn, A&E consultant at the BRI, is pleased to share this exciting job notice. The closing date is 17 February.

The CQC outstanding rated University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust (UHBFT) seeks applicants for Clinical Fellow posts in Emergency Medicine at SHO/ST 1 – 2 Level, to commence August 2020. The posts are ideally for a period of twelve months however applicants wishing to take a 6 month post will also be considered. Successful applicants will have the option to take a full time, or less than full time, 100% Emergency Medicine post or a hybrid post as described below (subject to availability).

As well as Emergency Medicine clinical posts, there is an exciting option of combining clinical Emergency Department work with developing an area of specialist interest.

This would be on the basis of 80:20 Emergency Medicine: Specialist interest and is paid on the same basis as the full time ED rota.

Currently active areas of specialist interest include Expedition Medicine, Global Health Medicine, Simulation, Intensive Care Medicine, Wellbeing, Research and Broadcasting. We would, however, be happy to consider any other suggestions from suitable candidates as long as they are justifiable from the perspective of contributing to the wider field of medicine.

Full details https://www.jobs.nhs.uk/xi/vacancy/?vac_ref=915941150 Please direct any and all queries to those indicated.

Following quickly on from last week’s MBD No 15 (Is it time to ditch the Lake Louise Score?), in this Medical Director’s Bulletin No 16, Dr Harvey Pynn highlights important medicine issues involving recalls of the EMERADE ADRENALINE PEN and RANITIDINE TABLETS. There is also a temporary delay with Nomad Pharmacy being able to supply POMs.

Read the full bulletin here.

Medical Director’s Bulletin No 15

High altitude medicine is of interest to many readers and most mountain travellers will be familiar with the Lake Louise Score for assessing acute mountain sickness. In this MDB, Dr Harvey Pynn asks the provocative question: Is it time to ditch the Lake Louise Score? Read the full bulletin here.

Read this special communication here.

“…I can’t think of a course I’ve attended where I have taken away so much training output in so little time.” wrote delegate Ben Conway after attending Advanced Medicine at Glenmore Lodge recently.

Ben continues:
Let me thank you again for the course delivery. I can’t express how important it is for me personally to have been shown techniques to sustain myself and those around me in situations we train to never be in, but may face nonetheless. I’ve been a first aider my whole life, and an instructor for a few years. It’s only now that I can say unequivocally that I would be confident and assertive when approaching an emergency situation. I think you’ve struck upon a seam of value in the training landscape and I can’t think of a course I’ve attended where I have taken away so much training output in so little time.

The next Advanced Medicine course runs 9-12 May. The mind maps below give some idea as to the broad scope of expedition medical planning and what WMT training equips delegates to consider and deal with.