TELEMEDICAL electro-cardiongram (ECG) monitoring from Broomwell Healthwatch has cut the cost of healthcare for the North Sea oil and gas industry, improved patient care and helped save lives, by providing offshore cardiac diagnosis for the industry’s oil and gas rig workers.
Abermed, the Aberdeen-based medical services provider to the oil and gas industry, has deployed a telemedical ECG service from Broomwell Healthwatch to 20 rigs in the North Sea to help offshore medics diagnose coronary blood clots and correctly administer medication to treat the problem on-site as part of its offshore emergency service cover.
Dr Euan Thompson, medical director at Abermed, said: “The telemedical ECG service has been an invaluable aid to our rig medics and has allowed us to set up a service for our clients which provides their employees with timely and preventative cardiac care, helping to save lives.
“A key benefit of the service is the time frame within which preventative action can be taken.
“The rig workers are in close proximity to the rig medics, so if needs be a diagnosis can be made and medication can be administered within just 30 minutes – without having to take the patient onshore to hospital.
“This not only cuts costs, but more importantly saves time, ensuring the patient receives optimal care.”
Prior to the deployment, patients with chest-pain symptoms were either transported onshore for diagnosis and treatment or were tested on-site with a traditional ECG machine.
