The Health of British Trawlermen on the Arctic Fishing Grounds
A history is presented of medical facilities available at sea for British trawlermen from 1881 until the last trawler support ship was withdrawn in 1980. Nine hundred and sixty-six consultations by sick or injured trawlermen at sea, of whom 170 were repatriated, are reviewed. Fishermen were hospital...
| Published in: | Occupational Medicine |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Text |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Oxford University Press
1985
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| Online Access: | http://occmed.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/short/35/2/55 https://doi.org/10.1093/occmed/35.2.55 |
| Summary: | A history is presented of medical facilities available at sea for British trawlermen from 1881 until the last trawler support ship was withdrawn in 1980. Nine hundred and sixty-six consultations by sick or injured trawlermen at sea, of whom 170 were repatriated, are reviewed. Fishermen were hospitalized on 237 occasions and six died. Two-thirds of consultations were for sickness with dental, gastrointestinal and respiratory conditions predominating but with cardiac and psychiatric complaints causing most problems. Among the 340 accidents the commonest site of injury was to the hand but the sites causing most problems were to the chest and lower limbs. Trawlermen should be carefully screened to keep unfit men, especially those with asthma, previous myocardial infarcts and psychiatric disease off the fishing grounds. A dental service for trawlermen and emergency dental training for support ship medical officers is suggested and antibiotics for all open hand injuries is recommended. |
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