NAVAL MEDICINE SEMINAR ENCOURAGES INFORMATION EXCHANGE

Decompression sickness - a condition that all navies' diving units wrestle with - was the key topic discussed at this year's Naval Medicine Seminar which was held from 23 to 25 Mar at Changi Naval Base.

And Dr Simon Mitchell, an internationally-renowned physician who specialises in occupational medicine, hyperbaric medicine and anaesthesiology, was the authority on this topic at the 3rd edition of the seminar.

Co-hosted by the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) and the Indonesian Navy, the Naval Medicine Seminar, was held under the ambit of the Western Pacific Naval Symposium, together with the Mine Countermeasures and Diving exercises.

As naval divers play a key role in both mine countermeasures and diving operations, Dr Mitchell's expertise in decompression sickness drew many participants. At the four presentations on decompression sickness that he gave during the seminar, 44 participants from 10 countries, namely Australia, Chile, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, China, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand and the United States.

"One of the things that can interrupt operations is if your divers suffer from decompression sickness." said Dr Mitchell. "You waste time having to treat them and they are not available to dive over a period of time, so if you want to run a successful operation, the prevention of decompression sickness is really important."

A former naval doctor with the New Zealand Navy for nine years, Dr Mitchell is also a diver with more than 40 years of experience.

Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) (Dr) John Wan, seminar coordinator of the Naval Medicine Seminar, felt that Dr Mitchell's presentations provided an update on the latest trends and technologies in diving medicine. Also, they created opportunities for further exchanges, collaborations and research on the issue of decompression sickness.

"All these ultimately serve to make diving safer and to push the operational capabilities of diving in the RSN." said LTC (Dr) Wan.

Such exchanges of information keep doctors in the respective navies, who formed the main bulk of the seminar participants, updated on what resources are available in the region.

At the end of the seminar, Dr Mitchell paid tribute to the RSN for organising the seminar, which he felt was done professionally.

"The Singaporean naval doctors are incredibly well-trained," said Dr Mitchell. "They are highly knowledgeable and their presentations were excellent."