Maritime pre-hospital emergency care primary retrieval team--operational considerations.

This article examines the non clinical skills and training required for effective maritime pre-hospital emergency care provision within a Role Two Afloat facility, allowing for a Primary Retrieval Team to be deployed in support of boarding operations. The provision of pre-hospital emergency care and sending a retrieval team forward has been trialled in various forms. In 2010 and 2011 a R2A team was deployed aboard RFA FORT VICTORIA. This included a Primary Retrieval Team consisting of an Emergency Nurse Specialist, a Medical Assistant which can be enhanced when required by an Emergency Care or Anaesthetic Consultant. This differs from the land operations support provided by the airborne Medical Emergency Response Team (MERT) as the maritime environment requires a bespoke solution for casualty retrieval as the method of deployment and the type of casualties and their locations may be more varied, requiring greater flexibility of approach.