Medical problems in off-shore oil drilling in Nigeria

This paper discusses the surgical and medical problems affecting off-shore oil drilling workers in the south-eastern Atlantic coastline of the Nigerian territorial waters; about 50-60 kilometers from land. There were a total of 1300 attendances at the off-shore clinic within 12 months, ie 3.6 daily for a workforce of 110, were successfully managed by 2 well-trained industrial staff nurses who were supervised by an experienced base doctor on-shore. Although, most of the patients were treated for minor medical and surgical conditions such as headaches, malaria, cuts and bruises, a few acute emergencies arose which had to be taken on-shore by helicopters, for subsequent management. Four accidental deaths occurred during the period, one of them was clearly preventable but there were no major disasters. This demonstrated the effectiveness and significant role which well-trained nurses can play in industrial health.