Mr Close says that paramedics on remote sites are more than practitioners of first aid; they are responsible for the health and wellbeing of every person on a site. This includes more than treating the emergency injuries, but also common colds and other day-to-day illnesses, which can have an effect on the work output of staff.

Having paramedics onsite means that workers can be treated immediately, even for minor ailments, increasing the recovery rate of the employee and worksite productivity.

“Workers don’t just go out there for months on end and not get sick. You can have a bright, cheery, 17-year-old worker, who is physically fit, right through to older people who’ve been working in the industry for 30 or 40 years. These people can have all sorts of long-term health problems and you have to look after those things too,” Mr Close says.

Mr Ball says that the most common injuries on any industrial site include “sprains and strains, some back injuries and occasionally crush injuries.”

Article continues below…

The tyranny of distance

Quick response times are advantageous for milder ailments and they are critical for emergency situations.

Mr Ball says his company’s main project at present is the Western Australia Resources Aero Medical Evacuation Service. This comprises a fully medically equipped jet which includes a doctor and a paramedic and two flight crew, which is available at short notice, 24 hours a day, seven days a week to oil and gas industry participants on the North West Shelf.

Mr Ball says the remoteness of onshore locations can often be underestimated.

“There are some similarities between offshore and onshore. Onshore, you predominantly think that you’re always close to a medical facility whereas offshore, you have to worry about using helicopters or other means to get people to-and-from.

“It’s actually the same for some of the onshore locations, especially at onshore gas processing facilities at the North West Shelf and in South East Queensland at some of the remote gas sites where coal seam gas is being extracted,” Mr Ball says.

“If a patient has to wait hours for a helicopter to fly in, or has to be driven a long distance on remote roads to receive treatment, the longer the initial assessment is delayed, the longer it will take for the person to be managed properly,” Mr Close adds.

Only a stone’s throw away

Due to the remote nature of many Australian gas projects, paramedics most commonly live onsite to ensure reliable access to medical help.

Mr Ball says “The paramedics live and work in the same conditions as the people they are looking after. Likewise while the shifts are operational they have to be at the site looking after staff. They are working exactly the same shifts, or a little bit earlier and a little later to cover the start and the end of the shift.”

The number of paramedics at a site is largely dependent on the scope of the project. LifeAid’s operations can range from a single paramedic to a clinic.

“We worked on the Dampier to Bunbury Natural Gas Pipeline, which had five campsites along that, and we had a paramedic at every one,” Mr Close says.

Safety first

Health professionals can only do so much if measures to prevent accidents are not in place. Both Mr Ball and Mr Close believe that companies within the oil and gas sector treat employee safety as a serious issue.

Mr Ball says “Over the last five years we’ve seen a real increase in awareness by all companies.” He says that companies in the sector are focused on “the best outcomes for their staff and contractors.”

Similarly, Mr Close says “The oil and gas sector is pretty switched on to safety.”