Emergency medical response...

[ky_emt]

Seizure/Stroke? Those two aren't even related.

 

 

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[bwellen]

We were on the Carnival Breeze in February and saw a person get airlifted off the ship by the Coast Guard one evening.

 

After we returned home I was browsing Cruise Critic one evening and happened to run into the daughter of the man who was airlifted off of the ship that night.

 

She said he had a heart attack on board and was airlifted back to Florida where he had surgery and was doing well. The daughter said she was very impressed with the facilities on board the ship and said that they were able to do anything that a hospital without a cath lab would have been able to do.

Edited April 2, 2014 by bwellen

[tigercat]

I had 2 incidents.

The first one I ended up getting a migraine while on an excursion. The line was long when we got back but I felt so sick I told my husband to get me on the ship NOW. He took me to the disembarkation ramp and we started up. They of course stopped us at which point I fainted. My husband said that they called medical and within seconds there was a wheelchair and I was put in it. I was taken to the Medical office and they treated me. I thought they did a great job.

 

The second one was a year and a half ago. I went down the slide and my daughter was helping me up (I can't just jump up and stand). There was a nice young lady with a very tiny bikini on that walked by. Both of the guys looking after the slice were looking at her and not at me. They sent the next person down who rammed into me knocking me down. The guys did nothing. I went down to Guest Services as I was still hurting. They called medical and got a wheelchair and took me down. They X-rayed me and had the Dr. look at me. The also sent a young man with a wheelchair with me to take me around. The medical services were good. Security also came and got a statement from me so am not sure what happened to the two young men.

tigercat

[Homosassa]

On a Carnival cruise I called Guest Services to report that in the cabin next to me a man was shouting, a child was screaming, a woman was sobbing, and something was banging the wall (a head? a body?).

 

Within a few minutes armed security people responded and a nurse was with them in case medical aid was needed.

[emtnmare2]

I think that some of what the OP saw, may have been the "medical team" showing up first because their work stations were closer than the medical center. Most of the "medical team" members are there to provide "grunt labor" in carrying a stretcher case or breaking out the equipment as directed by the doctor/nurse. I don't know of any ship where anyone other than the doctor(s)/nurse(s) were medically trained. On Pride of America, you might get the occasional crewmember who was a volunteer EMT at home, but there really isn't that kind of infrastructure outside the US.

 

From my days on the Norwegian Sky/Aloha, the medical staff were very good, and handled all kinds of emergencies:

 

1. A couple of cardiac arrests, I think one successful, one unsuccessful.

2. Several heart attacks, angina, and strokes

3. Lacerations from small to severe: crewmembers getting cut at work (could be any job onboard) to one case I remember well, where some idiot brought a glass into a hot tub, it broke, and they didn't tell anyone about it, just got out, and then a young man stepped down onto the now invisible glass, and required about 50-60 stitches.

4. Heat stroke

And from my own experience, they helped me when I heat prostrated myself to the point where I was passing a kidney stone (they squeezed two bags of IV saline into me in about 3 minutes), and surgically draining an infected tear duct.

 

I will say that we fired one doctor who didn't feel it was necessary for him to run to emergencies or drills, so the Captain just didn't feel he fit into shipboard life.

 

Princess is putting paramedics on some of their cruise ships.

http://www.princess.com/employment/onboard_employment/information/onboard_opportunities/onboard_opportunities.html

[chengkp75]

Princess is putting paramedics on some of their cruise ships.

http://www.princess.com/employment/onboard_employment/information/onboard_opportunities/onboard_opportunities.html

 

Interesting. However, I wonder whether the paramedic is to replace one of the nurses, or is an additional member of the medical staff. Since the majority of nurses hired onboard are ER nurses, I'm not sure whether a paramedic is better suited or not. Also wondering what the pay difference is between the two positions ashore, and whether the shortage of nurses we see here in the US is driving this.

[Pellaz]

While the IMO does not require an AED to be carried on ships that have a doctor onboard, many ships will have them. There will be either an AED or an emergency room defibrillator, or both, in the medical center, and there may be one or two located around the ships in crew areas. Because of the availability of trained medical personnel within a couple of football fields of wherever needed, the AED's are generally not placed for passenger access.

 

As always, thanks for the informative first-person response!

 

 

My mom blistered her feet on the aft pool deck on our Liberty cruise -- the deck gets EXTREMELY hot and she was trying to get to her flip-flops from the pool. The medical team brought a wheelchair and took her down to the Medical Center, where they bandaged her up. There was another woman there who had suffered the same fate. They provided a wheelchair for my mom to use for the remaining day or so of the cruise, and she was not charged.

[emtnmare2]

Interesting. However, I wonder whether the paramedic is to replace one of the nurses, or is an additional member of the medical staff. Since the majority of nurses hired onboard are ER nurses, I'm not sure whether a paramedic is better suited or not. Also wondering what the pay difference is between the two positions ashore, and whether the shortage of nurses we see here in the US is driving this.

 

From what I have read, they are being added to improve patient care were the incident happened. The medics that are being hired have a lot of 911 experience.

[jmcancruise]

I broke my arm a couple of years ago on the FReedom. DH called medical and they quickly responded. They transported me by wheelchair to the medical center. While there I was attended to by a couple of nurses and a doctor. They x-rayed and set my arm and gave me pain meds. The next day they sent me by ambulance to the hospital in fort Lauderdale. They followed up for several days after. I was very pleased with the professional and compassionate care I received.

[Gailerina]

On a Carnival cruise I called Guest Services to report that in the cabin next to me a man was shouting, a child was screaming, a woman was sobbing, and something was banging the wall (a head? a body?).

 

Within a few minutes armed security people responded and a nurse was with them in case medical aid was needed.

 

How I wish we knew what was happening (I'm nosey)

[PaulMedik]

Interesting. However, I wonder whether the paramedic is to replace one of the nurses, or is an additional member of the medical staff. Since the majority of nurses hired onboard are ER nurses, I'm not sure whether a paramedic is better suited or not. Also wondering what the pay difference is between the two positions ashore, and whether the shortage of nurses we see here in the US is driving this.

 

 

chengkp75,

 

A Paramedic is better suited to respond to calls throughout the ship than an ER nurse. Assuming the ER nurse has only ER or similar hospital based experience and assuming the Paramedic has 911 experience, the Paramedic will be in their element and the RN will not.

 

I don't know the current pay situation on board, but years ago I did check and it wasn't close to US land based RN pay.

 

I also don't know the current Carnival lead medical person, but the 'beard' in charge of the fleet's staff several years ago was a Paramedic / RN. I don't know if Carnival staffs Medics and RNs or just RNs.

[teacherbee]

My son split open his chin on the side of the pool on the Dream while docked in Cozumel. We were nervous not only getting him stitches but also the cost. They were very good in the infirmary at calming all three of us down. They gave us the choice to go to a hospital in Cozumel or have them try to do the stitches. We opted for them to do it and the nurse and doctor were great. They gave us extra waterproof bandages so he could still swim and called to check on him a few times during the cruise. Unfortunately there was a medical issue on our last night with a medivac, so we didn't go back to get his stitches out. I took him to the walk-in clinic when we got back and the doctor said he was impressed with how well they closed it up. He has only a small scar. Best of all, there was no cost because it was an accident. We wrote a letter to Carnival praising the care we received.

[HenanSan]

I believe I posted this here somewhere but... Last October we cruised on the Elation. My daughter felt "Funny" during dinner so we decided to leave the MDR and let her go rest. As we exited the MDR security asked if all was OK as my DD was being helped to walk by her boyfriend and father. We were asked if we needed a wheelchair and we said no we could make it. In less than a minute she just dropped. Security called a code something and it just happened that an EMT was walking behind us. He asked if we needed assistance and of course we said yes as she lay their unconscious. I did not time it but in no time Carnival staff came from everywhere to assist and each person knew exactly what they were supposed to do. It was executed perfectly and their Medic was there in a flash. They had to take her down the stairs via hand as the stretcher did not fit in the elevator and they were trying to keep her level all the way. It was perfect. In the infirmary they had everything a small hospital would have. They tested her blood right there on the spot, the had an xray machine, and the Medic, RN and MD all knew exactly what they were doing. They rate nothing but praises from us as they got her woke and speaking in a little while and kept us abreast of what they were doing the entire time and they assigned someone to sit with us and act as the go between for the MD. It was perfect. We still do not know what happened but she is fine now. (she had been in an accident two weeks before the cruise and on several different meds at the time). Our family has nothing but praise for the medical response team and the MD, RN and Medic on the Elation!!! I know the know what they are doing!!

[mdphares]

I got Strep Throat on a 7 day cruise years ago. I went to the infirmary. They were amazing, but I paid about 300.00 for the visit. The antibiotic which would have cost about 10.00 at home cost almost 200.00. My pharmacist husband was in shock. I made sure to get an itemized receipt with a diagnosis. I filed it with my insurance later and they reimbursed me everything but my copay.

 

 

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[kingoftheicedragons]

We were in the night club when a code bright star was called. The security guards that had been manning the door to the night club took off running as a result.