Travel Health Forum Annual Conference
25 September 2008, London
Jacqueline Pover was one lucky winner in 2008 and this is her take on the proceedings. The conference evaluations showed the expertise of the speakers was much appreciated by the delegates so we hope you can join us for more of the same on 19 September 2009.
Footprints around the world ...
I think anyone who has been to the Royal College of Physicians in London will agree the setting is impressive. This past September it was the venue for the RCN Travel Health Forum Annual Conference and it certainly didn’t disappoint – the food was mouth-watering and overall the atmosphere relaxed and informative.
RCN President Maura Buchanan dispelled any feeling of “them and us” with her friendly demeanour. Her comment “without caring, we are technicians” reminded me of the qualities nurses hold dear. “If you don’t invest in nurses, you will never be able to give quality care. “ she said, and Maura’s quote was highlighted by the fact that 180,000 nurses are due to retire at the end of the decade and we won’t have enough nurses to replace them.
Recruiting from abroad does not seem to be the solution, however. There is a shortfall of 600,000 nurses in Sub-Saharan Africa. Many countries are left short of badly needed nursing care when local nurses leave their hospitals to work in ours.
Some food for thought
Prime Minister Tony Blair was quoted in 2002 as saying: “If you are on the side of the patient, you should be on the side of the nurse.” The RCN defends and advances the interest of nurses, but we are also in a position to defend and advance the health interest of vulnerable people around the world.
Some 5,000 children die daily because of contaminated water yet here in Britain we can afford to choose bottled over tap water. Meanwhile AIDs kills people in their millions as they cannot afford access to medical care.
An entertaining and informative line-up speakers
As the pressure mounts to find a vaccine for dengue fever, Stephen Wright spoke about the four strains of “break bone fever”. This gives some indication of the sudden cramps and fever people present with.
Immunity can develop against one strain of dengue fever, but a person may develop any of the other strains. The incubation period is four-to-seven days. The predominant biting time for this particular mosquito is two-to-three hours pre dusk and two-to-three hours pre dawn. A warning to those who wish to enjoy the sunrise!
Dr Sundeep Dhillon’s video clips from “Xtreme Everest” were hugely entertaining. Their research proved invaluable, both for people at altitude and patients in intensive therapy units. Their amazing discovery that “sea level performance does not predict performance at altitude” should , they hope, help prepare people more safely for extreme conditions.
In the future we may be able to test patients pre operatively to see how they are likely to cope post operatively following anaesthesia. The key message seemed to be “take your time getting to higher altitude.”
“What percentage of people have never flown?”
If you were asked that question, would you ever have guessed it is 95 per cent? This was one of the many statistics Sheila Hall shocked us with in her presentation, The responsible traveller. It seems “eco friendly” travel is growing at a rapid rate, but is it still “eco friendly” or are companies taking advantage of a well-coined phrase to encourage us to part with our pounds!
Sheila warned parents of children at gap year age to beware of companies that were not as good as they seemed. The message seemed to be to do your research well.
We talk about the sex tourist trade ... The FCO did some research that showed 11 per cent of men and three per cent of women had sex with at least six people during a 10 day stay in Ibiza and half said they did not wear condoms. As travel health advisers we are ideally placed to promote safer sex – and must do so.
As we see students going on more adventurous trips abroad, heat exhaustion is another potential hazard. James Moore highlighted practical things we could do such as physically showing people the volume of fluids they would need to consume, ensuring they had access to rehydration sachets, added salt to their food and sat in the shade when possible. James also emphasised another important point: “Most things that cause heat related illness are preventable because they are behavioural.”.
Malaria
Dr Ron Behrens spoke about malaria surveillance and outbreak detection. The malaria control programme in some countries greatly reduces the number of cases. Urban areas are usually too polluted for mosquitoes. The prevalence of malaria and type can change so we need to get up-to-date information to relay to the traveller.
He discussed the issue that is raised when people want to take standby treatment with them rather than use chemoprophylaxis. His concern was that people are generally poor at self diagnosing and it may prevent and delay them seeking treatment. A situation may arise where standby treatment is more appropriate such as for someone who is a distance away from medical help.
Phone a friend
If you were stuck on a remote island in need of medical help, who would you call?
Dr Geoff Tothill of First Assist highlighted the importance of forward planning. Check the small print on your insurance. Phone the assistance company that appears on your policy to check whether they exist and whether they will be there if and when you need them.
Ask yourself a couple of important questions:
- Why am I going to a potentially high-risk environment?
- Is the environment going to be dangerous?
And remember, if the FCO advises against travel to a country your insurance is invalidated!
As you can see from my summary of the day, it was hugely informative and very entertaining. Travel health medicine is such an exciting area of nursing. We are very fortunate to have over 5,000 RCN members in the Travel Health Forum to share our experiences with.
Win free registration at our 2009 conference!
This year the RCN Travel Health Forum funded registration for three members to attend the annual conference. We intend to make this a yearly award so if you are a member of the RCN and this forum, and you would like to be in the running for places in 2009, then download the form (WORD 33KB) and tell us why you would particularly like to attend. If you’re chosen, all you have to do in return is provide feedback and a reflection on your experience in the form of a report for the newsletter.