Overview

In 2019, International SOS commenced a partnership with a global Offshore Energy Services Sector organisation, providing comprehensive medical and global health advisory services for their 1,000+ rotational workforce. The initiative aimed to mitigate occupational health risks offshore, bolster workforce health and safety, reduce incidents on duty, disembarkations, and evacuations, and eliminate operational downtime.

Problem

The organisation faced several workforce health-related challenges, many of which resulted in costly disembarkations and evacuations, causing operational disruption and a significant financial burden. Of concern were Injury on Duty (IOD) cases; dental issues requiring medical intervention; and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as hypertension, diabetes, and cholesterol that were not adequately controlled before offshore deployment.

Solution

In addition to providing the organisational offshore assets and vessels with highly qualified medical professionals for compliant primary and emergency healthcare delivery onboard, our occupational health experts, together with the organisational Health and Safety Team, implemented a multi-faceted approach to tackle the issues.

First, we introduced Electronic Medical Records onboard that enabled IOD data visibility for the organisation’s management who then worked on and delivered a clear path for stringent educational and safety interventions. Second, we enhanced organisational pre-deployment dental evaluations and screening for NCDs and cardiovascular risk factors. Third, we introduced onboard wellbeing programmes. And finally, we ensured robust clinical governance and Topside support to the onboard medical professionals to ensure quality control and medical supervision.

Impact

By 2024, the collaboration led to a marked reduction in serious incidents onboard. It eliminated medical disembarkations and evacuations and contributed to a healthier workforce and operational efficiencies, highlighting significant cost savings for the organisation and enhancing its duty of care for the workforce.

The case exemplifies the success of International SOS in enhancing medical services for this global organisation, leading to improved health outcomes, cost savings of nearing a seven-digit figure a year just on avoided disembarkations and evacuations, along with implementing a robust duty of care framework. This partnership serves as a model for proactive health risk management in the offshore energy sector. The win-win outcome benefits both the staff, through better health, and the organisation, through financial savings and reputation enhancement.