oa A Comparative study in Qatargas Medical Department: The impact of effective fitness to work on the reduction of Offshore Medical Evacuations

Background: A significant number of offshore operations are carried out by Qatargas (QG) employees and contractors in multiple offshore locations, hence, people acutely ill require costly and risky Medical Evacuation (Medevac) undertaken by helicopter or boat.¹ This study aims to evaluate the impact of offshore fitness to work on reducing the number of preventable medevacs in QG compared to other oil and gas offshore organizations. Methods: This is a retrospective review of medevac data (2018-2020) in Qatargas offshore locations concerning the total yearly population. Employees’ records, human resource data, and medical screening data were used as a dominator for the population. It included analysis of pre-employment medical examination, periodic medical examination, medical screening programs, occupational vaccination, and fitness to return to work programs. Results: During the 3 years, 10 medevacs occurred for a total of 13,376 workers, resulting in a rate of 0.74 medevac cases per 1000 workers (Figure 1). This rate is remarkable compared to similar studies in other oil and gas offshore industries (4.97/1000²; 4/1000³). In addition, we have evaluated retrospectively the medical records of the medevac cases to identify those due to a medical reason (not injuries/trauma). Among the 6 medical cases, 1 worker had a pre-existing medical condition. Another finding was that the average age of the 3 medical medevac cases due to suspicious chest pain was 57 years old. All medevacs were male workers, mostly because of illnesses (60%) rather than trauma (40%) (Figure 2). Conclusion: This study provides a new benchmark medevac rate (0.74/1000). A robust fitness to work in an offshore program with the adequate implementation of other preventative measures (e.g., vaccination) is effective in reducing the number of preventable medical medevacs from offshore remote locations and hence, reducing the cost of both medevacs and lost working hours.