Mineral Exploration is the official publication of the Association of Mineral Exploration British Columbia.
Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/325035
14 S U M M E R 2 0 1 4 technology for the use of front-line troops, such as combat-application tourniquets and hemostatic powders such as CELOX (some impregnated into gauze for packing wounds). Inexpensive and easy to operate, this kit is widely available to civilians. Yet at AME BC's safety workshop, it appeared that this technology was new to most of the delegates – including wilderness first-aiders. It is essential to keep on top of these developments and ensure that train- ing is appropriate and up to date. As an example, in February of 2013, the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh indi- cated that, in its view, any front-line civilian medic failing to use tourniquets to staunch traumatic bleeds would be negligent. Now ask yourself the question: Do you know how to use tourniquets or hemostatic powders? Keep your staff safe Remember that you have a "duty of care" for staff members travelling overseas. • Ensure that you undertake a thorough risk assessment for the destination country, covering health, political and other issues. Hold pre-departure briefings for staff that include relevant information about travel health, tropi- cal medicine details and vaccinations or other preventive treatments. • Provide basic travel safety and personal security training, as well as first-aid training and kit appropriate to the pur- pose of the trip. • Have a system in place for monitor- ing updates from and communicating with staff overseas. • Have travelling staff register with their government's traveller regis- tration service when abroad. The Canadian, U.S., U.K. and other gov- ernments will update registered travel- lers if there is an emergency at home or in their travel region. Finally, a recce trip is highly benefi- cial to scope out the project and inform the risk assessment for the arrival of the wider project team – remember to apply the same safety standards to members of the recce team. • Matthew Davies is a specialist remote area safety consultant with 22 years' experience in remote area safety training. He has fea- tured as an expert in desert preparation at the Royal Geographical Society in London and is a regular lecturer at the world's oldest school of tropical medicine. For more information, visit explorationcareprogram.com. "In the first 10 years after leaving university, five of my course mates were dead and two of them kidnapped." —mining engineer in Vancouver, February 2013, talking about his colleagues who worked as geologists in remote locations in the developing world The right care at the right time EMPLOYING PARAMEDICS ON REMOTE WORKSITES MEANS MORE EFFICIENT MEDICAL ATTENTION AND FEWER LOST-TIME INCIDENTS By thoMas PuDDicoMBe Robertson Manufacturing.indd 1 13-11-13 1:49 PM p12-15_Safety+Paramedics.indd 14 14-05-26 1:37 PM