PSC deficiency code 18401: Medical Equipment, medical chest, medical guide
Area 18 Maritime Labour Convention, 2006
This code covers what the ship has for treating illness and injury at sea when no doctor is on board: the medicine chest, the medical equipment and the medical guide. The officer responsible for medical care is usually asked to open the hospital and the chest.
What the inspector looks at
- Contents of the medicine chest against the list the flag State requires, with quantities
- Expiry dates, and a system for replacing medicines before they expire
- Controlled drugs locked away, with a register showing receipts, use and balance
- Medical equipment present and working: oxygen with a full cylinder, resuscitation kit, stretcher, and anything else on the flag's list
- The medical guide on board in the edition the flag accepts, and access to radio medical advice
- Where dangerous goods are carried, the medical first aid guidance for chemical exposure
- An inventory that is current, plus any inspection certificate the flag requires for the chest
Common findings
- Several medicines in medicine chest expired
- Medicine chest inventory not up to date
- Controlled drugs register not maintained, balance does not match
- Oxygen cylinder in hospital empty
- Medical guide not on board or outdated edition
- Items missing from medical chest as per flag requirements
- No valid medicine chest inspection certificate
The rule behind it
MLC 2006 Regulation 4.1 and Standard A4.1 require ships to carry a medicine chest, medical equipment and a medical guide as specified by the flag State, inspected at regular intervals, and to have a doctor on board for ships carrying 100 or more persons on international voyages of more than three days. The flag's national rules set the actual contents; many base them on the WHO International Medical Guide for Ships. The officers in charge of medical care hold STCW training in medical first aid or medical care.
Action codes you are likely to see
Expired or missing items are most often 17 or 16, depending on how fast the agent can supply them. A missing controlled drugs register entry, once corrected, can be 10. A chest so depleted that the ship couldn't treat a serious injury on the coming voyage may be treated as a ground for detention (30). See action taken codes.
How to close it
Order the missing and expired items through the agent and keep the supplier's delivery note listing them. Update the inventory, reconcile the controlled drugs register and dispose of expired drugs as the flag and port allow, with a record. Renew the medical guide if it's outdated and the chest inspection certificate if the flag requires one. Keep the delivery note, updated inventory and certificate with the Form B.