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SPARTAN’S IN FIJI Exciting
News! Spartan Race Australia, NZ & Fiji has launched Spartan Fiji today which will be held from 9 - 12 November 2023 in Sabeto, Nadi.Spartan are expecting between 2000-3000 participants to travel for the race, with many travelling in family or friendship groups. |
IF YOU HAVE A SUSPECTED DIVE INJURY/ ACCIDENT CALL
THE SWITCHBOARD OPERATOR WOULD KNOW WHICH HYPERBARIC DOCTOR IS ON DUTY (CWM, SUVA)
Once retrieval for treatment is authorised, OCEANIA HOSPITALS should also be notified of an admission, if necessary:
Call Dr John Alfred
992 9541
IMPORTANT – YOU MUST PLACE THE PATIENT ON OXYGEN!
IF CONSTANT FLOW, MINIMUM 15 LITRES/MINUTE
In a suspected diving accident, the first question is ‘Did the victim take a breath underwater?’ from a SCUBA tank, hose, bucket, submerged car, or any compressed air source, regardless of depth.
If the answer is no, give CPR and oxygen if needed and evaluate at the nearest medical facility as the casualty is unlikely to require treatment by a diving medicine specialist.
If the injured diver did breathe underwater and only mild symptoms are present (fatigue and itching only), place the patient in the Recovery position if possible and administer oxygen and oral fluids while maintaining close observation for 30 minutes. DO NOT GIVE ORAL FLUIDS TO PATIENTS SUFFERING DIZZINESS OR NAUSEA DUE TO POSSIBILITY OF VOMITING.
If these symptoms do not clear, “ACTIVATE THE HYPERBARIC CHAMBER ALERT”.
If the injured diver did breathe underwater and has serious symptoms, the Dive Operator must accompany the patient and do the following:
Full document with reporting procedures and emergency contacts are accessible and downloadable here.
We recommend that all dive operators have a hardcopy of these notes printed and readily available on all dive vessels and offices.
https://fhta.com.fj/about-fhta/fhta-subcommittees/dive-operators-subcommittee-divecomm/fiji-dive-emergency-notes/
Bula vinaka,
Hope this finds you well and in good spirits.
Further to our recent opening of our 600 square meter Emergency Medical Services Medic Centre facility located at level 1. Port Denarau Marina as mentioned over the past weeks please find the latest update on our Marine Rescue Ambulance.
Emergency Medical Services (Fiji) has just received delivery of its new purpose built medevac rescue boat named; ‘’EMS Marine Rescue’’
The vessel is an aluminium single hull 7.8 metre boat powered by twin 175 HP 4 stroke Suzuki Outboards engines.
Currently the vessel is at Port Denarau Marina having the engines fitted & undergoing the final stages of the MSAF survey requirements.
Marine Rescue will be based at Port Denarau and operate 24/7
The vessel installations include:
· AIS Radar, Satellite phones & internet, GPS tracking, High powered day/night search lights, FLIR Thermal imaging Camera
· An extensive emergency trauma medical kit - Enclosed Cabin On Board stretcher - room for 3 patients to lay down and be treated
· The latest digital diagnostic equipment- Portable X-Ray, Ultrasound, ECG, AED, LifePak, Vitals Monitor, Onboard & portable medical oxygen
· Advanced drugs including inotropes, antiarrhythmics, sedatives and, neuromuscular blockers
· Musculoskeletal - complete range of immobilisation and spinal equipment
· Marine surf rescue kit
The boat has it's own trailer that allows the boat to be mobilised to any location site in Fiji for conferences, events and film production sites.
Marine Rescue’s medical team will consist of EMS’s doctors, emergency nurses and paramedics.
Patients will be treated on-site and those requiring emergency treatment or surgery will be stabilised then transferred to the appropriate medical facility.
Tourism operators will need to pre-register for the service via our website portal.
EMS will then discuss the service level required and implement an SOP ensuring timely response times .
During the first weeks of September, Marine Rescue will be undergoing sea trials and may be available to visit your location or organise to set up the services we offer.
Please Call me 222 0909 to check availability
Best regards,
Graeme Hedge
CEO – Paramedic
Helipro (Fiji) Pte Limited
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10 May, 2020, 9:00 pm
Mangrove patch area in Qoliqoli Cokovata. In 2018, the Fiji Government designated Qoliqoli Cokovata of the Great Sea Reef as a wetland of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention. Picture: WWF-PACIFIC
THE Great Sea Reef (GSR) is the third-longest barrier reef system in the world spanning more than 200km from Udu point all the way to the Yasawa and Mamanuca Islands weaving its way towards the Coral Coast.
This reef system provides about 70 per cent of fish consumed locally and is an important tourist destination.
In Fiji, WWF’s focus is on protecting and conserving Fiji’s Great Sea Reef, a living icon for Fiji.
WWF-Pacific Great Sea Reef program manager Alfred Ralifo said WWF works with many stakeholders and partners to sustainably manage and protect GSR.
“As we use many conservation tools, lessons from other parts of the world and liaising with all partners and stakeholders, equal and inclusive participation in decision-making processes, facilitate good scientific surveys and research work to inform planning and policy, awareness and campaigns and promote and encourage the use of traditional knowledge and practices,” he said.
“Overall it’s about collaboration and inclusivity.”
The GSR is important to the people of Fiji and the Pacific and it’s under enormous threats and pressure.
“If we do not do anything about it then we are going to lose this reef system in the near future.
“The GSR is important to not only sustaining Fiji’s economy at the national level, but also at the grass-roots level. It is important for food and nutritional security for adaptation and building resilience to climate change. It’s an integral part of Fiji’s culture and identity.”
The GSR faces many threats from pollution, unsustainable agriculture and forestry (soil erosion, use of chemical pesticides and weedicides and deforestation), unsustainable tourism, unsustainable fishing, shipping industry, urban expansion – clearing of mangroves and coastal vegetation, waste water from factories and sewages.
“All these threats are compounded by the impacts of climate change – ocean acidification, overheating of the sea, sea-level rise, storm surges, hurricanes, etc.,” he said.
“If we do not protect and address these multiple threats we are going to lose this very important reef system including the fish and other sea creatures (corals, turtles, sharks, rays, shellfish, etc.) which are important to us.
“We won’t be able to protect ourselves against the impact of climate change. Our Fijian economy will be affected because we will lose our tourists and our fishing industry will collapse. Health and nutrition will also be a problem and incidents of poverty will rise.”
He said their work in Fiji and the Pacific was a small component of a larger movement across the globe where people are recognising that business, as usual, was creating more problems for the planet and for the people and benefitting the elite few.
“Business, as usual, is destroying the health of our planet earth, destroying our oceans, our rivers, our forest, our soil, the air we breathe and biodiversity. “Business, as usual, is making the rich richer and the poor, poorer.”
He said they are working with all stakeholders of the Great Sea Reef through fundraising, capacity building, and consultation and promoting sustainable and regenerative practices.
“We are creating awareness and advocating for policy change to ensure that there are enabling mechanism to support sustainable blue-green economies that are inclusive, transparent, focusing on the most vulnerable groups and communities first.
“We are creating awareness and ensuring that everyone has the ability to make informed decisions on how they should manage and sustainably use their natural resources.
“We are working to support the Fijian government in implementing its international commitments such as the sustainable development goals, the Paris Agreement and Convention of Biological Diversity, UN Oceans Conference to name a few.”
In 2018, Government had designated the Qoliqoli Cokovata of the Great Sea Reef as the wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention.
“WWF-Pacifi c (my team and I) collaborated with the Fiji Government and with the traditional owners of Qoliqoli Cokovata of Macuata – the Tui Macuata and the people of Macuata, Sasa, Dreketi and Mali – to ensure that we complete the Ramsar designation process,” he said.
Qoliqoli Cokovata(QC) is now Fiji’s first coral reef Ramsar site which means that Government and the people of the Qoliqoli Cokovata are committed to ensuring that the QC is managed sustainably and used wisely.
Qoliqoli Cokovata Ramsar Site is a gift from the Tui Macuata and the people of Macuata, Dreketi, Sasa and Mali to the people of Fiji and the world.
https://www.fijitimes.com/the-importance-of-the-great-sea-reef/
Coronaviruses attack the respiratory system, and SARS-CoV-2 can cause serious damage to the lungs
The Coronavirus pandemic has already had a devastating impact on the scuba diving world – but there's another question on divers' minds: 'What happens if I get it? Can I dive after COVID-19?' And the answer is not straightforward.
An article published in the German magazine Wetnotes (click here for a Google Translated English version) on 15 April gives an insight into the medical problems that scuba divers who have contracted SARS-CoV-2 might face. In it, Dr Frank Hartig, a senior consultant and response crisis coordinator/disaster officer for SARS-CoV-2 at Innsbruck University Hospital in Austria – and a scuba diver himself – describes some of the problems he has already encountered as a physician.
The acronym SARS – as in SARS-CoV-2, the official name of COVID-19 – stands for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome. SARS attacks the lungs, and while research into the long-term effects of the novel coronavirus is only just beginning, its physical impacts are all too tragically well known. Lung damage caused by conditions such as pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) has been widely reported. It is also known to attack other organs, including the heart, although cardiac damage may go unnoticed until the heart is actually checked. Although we might not know much about the coronavirus itself, it has long been established that scuba diving with a compromised cardiopulmonary system can lead to serious injury, even death.
In his article, Dr Hartig describes his involvement with six active scuba divers who were hospitalised with conditions brought on by SARS-CoV-2 and who subsequently recovered and were discharged. When they returned for a check-up several weeks later, they all outwardly appeared to be healthy, but a closer examination proved otherwise.
A build-up of fluid in the lungs can lead to the body being starved of oxygen
'The first checks of these six divers, who came to the check-up clinically healthy after 5 to 6 weeks, are interesting,' writes Dr Hartig (translated from German). 'In two of them, we saw significant oxygen deficiency when under stress as a typical sign of a persistent pulmonary shunt. In two others, bronchial tubes were still very irritable during exercise, as in asthmatics. Four of the six divers in the check-up CT [scan] still had significant lung changes. None of the six divers can be released for diving for the time being, despite their wellbeing.'
Exercise-induced asthma is a well-known contraindication to diving, and in layman's terms, a pulmonary shunt is when blood fails to pick up more oxygen as it passes through the lungs, which leads to the body being starved of oxygen. It is often caused by fluid in the lungs, also the result of pneumonia and pulmonary oedema, a condition becoming widely recognised as a leading cause of diver fatalities.
At this stage, any questions over long-term damage to the lungs caused by SARS-CoV-2 would be entirely speculative, but it is clear from Dr Hartig's assessment that divers who have been affected by the coronavirus should not dive until they have had a thorough medical examination – even if they otherwise appear healthy. As Dr Hartig notes, if proper precautions are not taken, 'Young, COVID-healthy people who want to dive again quickly and appear healthy at first could [slip through our fingers].'
A report published on 12 April by the Belgian Society for Diving and Hyperbaric Medicine gives advice to scuba divers who may have contracted and recovered from Covid-19 based on current medical knowledge. To summarise, the report states that:
Click here for the full report (available in French, Dutch and English)
A complete assessment of the problems that divers might face following a COVID-19 / SARS-CoV-2 infection is undoubtedly many months away and, as Dr Hartig notes, any long-term medical advice will remain speculative until clinical trials have been conducted.
In the short-term, however, the advice is clear. SARS-CoV-2 can damage the lungs and the heart. Scuba diving with damage to any part of the cardiovascular system can lead to serious injury and death. Much as we might all wish to rush back into the water as soon as we can, doing so without proper medical consideration may cause more harm than good.
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| The Famous Ane of "Ane's Bommie" fame on the Rainbow Reef Taveuni FIJI |
