A project by the Seafarers’ Hospital Society (SHS) aims to tackle the risk of heart-related fatalities in fishermen, particularly when onboard and far from medical help.

Heart disease is one of the biggest killers globally, and in the UK, 460 people die every day from heart or circulatory problems. Fishermen feature prominently among those numbers, with heart disease and cardiovascular illness remaining one of the major killers at sea.

The occurrence of heart attacks, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and other similar health-related incidents due to high blood pressure has increased within the fishing community, as the increasing age of seafarers means common health complications are being taken to sea.

Seafarers can face a long wait before emergency treatment arrives when out at sea. Crews onboard fishing vessels often make valiant efforts to save a colleague’s life by performing CPR, but sadly are not always successful. Many deaths at sea remain preventable, so the aim of the ongoing SHS Defibrillator Project is to provide vessels with life-saving equipment.

The Seafarers’ Hospital Society project will place 200 defibrillators on fishing vessels.

The project builds on the success of a pilot conducted by SHS and the NHS in 2021, and thanks to additional funding from the UK Seafood Fund, will place 200 defibrillators and 250 first aid kits on fishing vessels.

Treatment with an automated external defibrillator is a key factor in increasing a person’s chance of survival. Compact, portable and requiring little maintenance, this is a perfect piece of first aid equipment onboard fishing vessels.

Training and education are vital aspects of this project, providing the skills and knowledge to operate a defibrillator effectively. The training includes how to identify a cardiac arrest, how to use a defibrillator and how to administer additional first aid techniques.

In November, SHS CEO Sandra Welch visited the Cornish port of Looe for the first set of training sessions for fishermen who had signed up to have a defibrillator installed on their vessels. Over two days, three training sessions were attended by 26 local fishermen, covering the safe use of defibrillators
and effective CPR in the case of cardiac emergencies.

Tina Hicks, harbour master and CEO of Looe harbour, said: “The fishermen who attended these sessions have been full of praise for the training and equipment, and undoubtedly that positivity will spread amongst the fishing communities in other ports, because of what has happened in Looe.”

Upcoming training sessions will take place in Kilkeel, Portavogie, Ardglass, the Isle of Man, Fraserburgh, Peterhead, Swansea and Brixham, in addition to virtual training sessions on Zoom.

For more information on the project, email: admin@seahospital.org.uk or call: 07392 998964. Twenty defibrillators and first aid kits are still available to additional vessels.

This story was taken from the latest issue of Fishing News. For more up-to-date and in-depth reports on the UK and Irish commercial fishing sector, subscribe to Fishing News here or buy the latest single issue for just £3.50 here. 

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