White Shirt Warriors at the Edge of the Waves and Wind

White-shirted soldiers at the forefront

On the rigs of the Year of the Dragon, trees are budding and blooming. Besides the oil and gas engineers who are still diligently working as usual, the rig doctors are also quietly carrying out their responsibilities in the middle of the ocean. Working far away from their families for many days at the forefront of the waves and winds, they still keep in mind that their work is "alone but not lonely".

We visited the Marine Medical Department of Vietsovpetro Medical Center on the first working days of Spring Giap Thin, and fortunately, we had the opportunity to sit and chat with many doctors who had just returned to shore. Cheerfulness, simplicity and enthusiasm were what we felt when talking with the doctors here.

Doctor Doan Quyet Thang, Specialist 1, Deputy Head of the Marine Medicine Department of Vietsovpetro Medical Center, said that on every offshore project, there will always be 2 doctors changing shifts. The doctor in charge of the offshore project will work independently for 21 consecutive days, then take 21 days off, with the task of being on duty 24/7 for emergency medical care, receiving and treating minor and acute illnesses, consulting, monitoring the health of patients, and making records to transfer patients to shore for treatment (if any) according to regulations. From February 2024, doctors on offshore projects will have the additional task of examining and making records to monitor chronic non-communicable diseases for engineers on the rig, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, lipid metabolism disorders, etc. based on the diagnosis and treatment of shore doctors according to regulations.

“On drilling rigs and oil tankers, doctors alone have to do all the nursing and caregiving work without anyone to support them like onshore. Although it is said that the medical industry always works in a minimum team of Doctor - Nurse - Caregiver, on offshore projects there is only one doctor so it is very stressful, especially when there is an emergency case,” said Dr. Thang.

At sea, doctors must quickly contact shore by phone, but the phone signal at sea is very unstable. When there is a case that requires consultation, the most feared thing is that the phone signal will be lost. In addition to treatment, doctors stationed at offshore construction sites must undertake preventive medical work for hundreds of people working in the middle of the ocean. Therefore, food safety is a top priority. Food and drinking water all follow strict, individual standards. Doctors must regularly monitor and check the kitchen, food supply, food sample storage, insect extermination, etc. In addition to directly rescuing people, doctors also compile first aid instructions for officers and workers at sea to apply when necessary.

Talking about his work on the offshore project, Dr. Vu Quang Thanh said that he has worked for nearly 35 years on offshore projects and is currently on duty at the Vietsovpetro 1 oil tanker. He has been to most of Vietsovpetro's rigs and ships. According to Dr. Quach Van Thao, working at the BK Thien Ung rig, "Working on a pressure rig is like that. If something happens to your family, it is difficult to return because you need a plane to return." BK Thien Ung, where he works, is also Vietsovpetro's farthest project, 170 km from the mainland, with a flight usually every 10 days.

They confided that on offshore projects, doctors not only examine and treat patients, but more importantly, they are also a spiritual support, a "psychological medicine" for officers, engineers and workers. In the middle of the vast ocean, if a person has a health problem without a doctor, they will be very confused, but with a doctor on duty 24/7, everyone can work with peace of mind. Therefore, doctors must also be the ones to keep the strongest spirit, in any situation.

Sharing with us, Dr. Pham Xuan Hoa, currently a doctor on the CTK3 technology platform, said that he used to work in Thai Binh, then he worked at the Vietsovpetro Medical Center and has nearly 20 years of experience at sea. "Living and working in the cultural environment of oil and gas workers" makes him feel great. Oil and gas people are always happy and friendly, working in a special environment, so oil and gas people pay great attention to safety and solidarity is a beauty that he felt in the first days of working at offshore projects. During the health check-up outside the platform, he saw that the young generation at Vietsovpetro's platforms and ships have a healthy lifestyle and "no smoking" so their health is very good to ensure work on the platform.

The doctors of the Marine Medicine Department shared with us many touching memories and stories. In addition to the task of taking care of the health of workers and experts on the construction site, doctors at each platform regularly provide emergency care to all victims at sea. "We can receive calls from the navy and coast guard at any time of the day, reporting that fishermen and sailors are injured, have a stroke, etc. and need emergency care. After asking permission from the agency's leaders and receiving approval from the platform manager, the doctor will be lowered into the water by crane to approach the victim, promptly treating and helping the unfortunate fishermen overcome the danger" - said doctor Doan Quyet Thang.

Thanks to the timely support of doctors on the rig and ship, many patients were rescued from the "grim reaper". In 2023 alone, the medical examination and emergency treatment on marine projects provided 10,276 examinations, of which 93 were foreigners and 10,090 were Vietnamese; 11 cases were transferred ashore for treatment, of which 8 were transferred by combined shift-change aircraft and 3 were by air ambulance. Currently, the staff of the Marine Medicine Department includes 55 doctors and 1 engineer providing medical services for 29 marine projects and the Dai Hung project onshore, specifically 19 doctors on the payroll accounting for 36%; 9 doctors on the payroll accounting for 16% and 27 contract doctors accounting for 49%.

With the attention of Vietsovpetro's leadership and the dedication of Vietsovpetro Information Technology Center, the network has now been deployed to platforms and ships; this year, Vietsovpetro Medical Center will try to connect the network and hospital management software onshore to offshore projects for doctors, when needed, doctors can search for patient history information to best treat the patient... "This is the most outstanding and most anticipated thing because doctors have to handle the situation alone, completely independent without direct support from colleagues, in addition to being under pressure from the surrounding when colleagues are worried, when connecting to shore for information to handle immediately, that also helps provide emergency care during the golden hour for patients" - Doctor Doan Quyet Thang added.

In addition to the sea schedule, when returning to shore, the doctors of the Marine Medicine Department work together to make reports, exchange and discuss work as well as participate in professional training courses organized by Vietsovpetro Medical Center to improve their qualifications, better serve their work, and at the same time participate in emergency care and medical examination and treatment on shore.

In the joy of the new spring, carrying out the action of "renewing old motivation, adding new motivation" of the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group, promoting the culture of solidarity of oil and gas workers, doctors on drilling rigs and offshore projects happily sing the song "spring from drilling rigs, in the middle of the ocean with thousands of waves, spring of happiness and love, let's smile, spring is more joyful". They live with their colleagues on the rigs and ships more than with their wives and children, so doctors on drilling rigs always silently thank the strong rear "their families" because they are always the spiritual support for them to complete their tasks. "The white-shirt soldiers are not as noisy and fierce as the waves in the East Sea, they still quietly do their work of examining and treating people, saving lives and ensuring the health of oil and gas workers so that they can confidently go looking for oil to enrich the country, while contributing to protecting national sovereignty, affirming the sovereignty of the sea and islands of the homeland Vietnam".

Dr. Nguyen Van Hiep - Deputy Director of Vietsovpetro Medical Center said that the most important thing in island medicine is the smooth coordination between the participating parties, timely medical orders and activation of emergency procedures at sea. On offshore projects, due to limitations in testing equipment and on-site consultation tools, doctors must be able and sensitive to assess the patient's condition to give necessary orders and indications. "In terms of expertise, to limit the number of emergency cases at sea, our center organizes periodic health check-ups carefully and comprehensively for all officers and employees working at sea. But when an incident occurs, emergency care at sea is always given priority." According to the Ministry of Health's project, Vietsovpetro Medical Center is one of six emergency resuscitation units that will become a center for emergency reception, medical examination and treatment specific to sea and island areas and perform the task of remote emergency support (telemedicine).

(According to Petrotimes)