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26 Service Sector Medical Bags & Kits<br />
MacDonald also raised concerns over the<br />
inclusion of “outdated” treatments, as many<br />
vessels continue to mistakenly carry old<br />
editions of the WHO medical kit, which<br />
follows regulations dating from the 1970s.<br />
He said: “Old kits still tend to carry penicillin<br />
tablets, but many organisms are now resistant<br />
to the old penicillin so taking it would have<br />
very little effect. They’ve now removed the<br />
old style of penicillin from the kits<br />
and replaced it with a much more<br />
modern type, which is likely to be<br />
much more effective.” Mr MacDonald<br />
also noted that the current, third<br />
edition kit features post-exposure<br />
prophylaxis medicines which can<br />
assist in preventing infection by<br />
pathogens such as HIV (following a<br />
needle stick injury, for example).<br />
The problem of outdated supplies<br />
serves to emphasise the value of<br />
reputable advice and services when<br />
purchasing medicines. Boris<br />
Noordervliet of maritime and offshore<br />
medical supply company Lagaay<br />
International stressed that prior to<br />
supplying, a number of factors must be taken<br />
into account: “We have 28 different regulations<br />
on stock in our premises so must learn which<br />
country of regulation a ship is operating from,<br />
how many crew it has, where its sailing and<br />
what its carrying before we know what to<br />
supply.<br />
“Using our Medical Care System, we keep<br />
track of everything that goes onboard so we<br />
Many vessels continue to<br />
mistakenly carry old<br />
editions of the WHO<br />
medical kit, which follows<br />
regulations dating from<br />
the 1970s<br />
know wherever the ship is at a particular<br />
moment and what it is in need of” he added.<br />
“We can supply the vessel at almost every port<br />
in the world without actually having to go<br />
onboard and to see what the stock is. There are<br />
around 400 different articles per regulation so<br />
combined; this needs a lot of handling.”<br />
With the development of advanced<br />
medical management systems, companies<br />
must not be daunted by procurement<br />
processes for ship medical kits. By regularly<br />
keeping up to date with kit contents,<br />
companies will benefit from a simplified<br />
approach to stock replenishment, kit<br />
inspections and satisfying regulations while<br />
ensuring seafarer health and well being<br />
remains a leading priority. ❤
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