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When Pamela Stephenson, also known as Dr Connolly, clinical psychologist, biographer, ex-comedienne and wife of Billy Connolly, decided to embark upon an extraordinary sea voyage designed to follow in the wake of her Victorian near-namesake, Fanny Louis Stevenson - wife to Robert Louis Stevenson - she sat down to evaluate the risks. High on the list - number 3 after the weather and on-board emergencies - was medical emergencies (Stephenson (2005) p13).
Echoing her concerns, her business advisor recommended that she “purchase the best medical equipment that money can buy” (ibid p33), to which end research led her to RDT and Tempus, which she describes in her ensuing book as ”a wizard of an on-board electronic device…capable of relaying vital patient information” (ibid p32).
Tempus provides 24/7 access to expert medical advice and treatment support from any land, sea or air location. Along with breath gas analysis, blood oxygen level, blood pressure, temperature and still video data it features a uniquely designed 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG), which can be easily applied by a non-medical user. Its integrated hands-free voice link connects automatically to the medical experts located often thousands of miles away and enables them to remain in constant contact with the crewmember handling the incident.
As Pamela Stevenson discovered during her intrepid voyage when one of her crew suffered a bad haematoma Tempus, combined with access to land-based physicians, medical kits and appropriately trained crew, represents a vital piece of onboard equipment. The USA-based MedLink doctor reviewed the data transmitted by Tempus, including a visual image of the wound, and was able to confirm that it was safe to continue to an island location suitable for airlifting the patient on for surgery, itself only necessary if the injury worsened (ibid p333).
In short, Tempus provides the right diagnostic information to enable fast, informed medical decisions to be taken. This means decisions regarding intervention, diversion or medical evacuation are made using hard, medical facts rather than guesswork.
Kate Murphy, Executive Director of RDT said: “We are immensely proud that Dr Connolly’s LA medical advisors advised her to equip her yacht, Takapuna, with Tempus and delighted that we were able to help during the serious medical incident that occurred during the voyage. This is exactly what Tempus is designed to do and, in addition, it helped provided peace of mind for Dr Connolly, her family and her crew during this epic, eventful and memorable voyage. Tempus represents a technological development for advanced mobile medical care. Despite being the most sophisticated device available in terms of the clinical data it provides and its communications capabilities, it is designed for use by total non-experts and requires just 4-hours training.”
Ends
Reference:
Stephenson, P. (2005) “Treasure Islands: sailing the south seas in the wake of Fanny and Robert Louis Stevenson” Headline Book Publishing, London (2005) ISBN 0 7553 1285 6 pp13, 32-33, 46, 333, 338