Telemedical advice: who answers and how to reach them
1The lesson in plain words
Doctors ashore give free medical advice to any vessel at sea, day and night. You reach them through the coastguard, which can also arrange an evacuation.
What TMAS is
A TMAS (telemedical assistance service) provides doctors’ advice to vessels at sea, 24 hours a day, free of charge. Guidance from the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the International Aeronautical and Maritime Search and Rescue (IAMSAR) Manual links TMAS with maritime rescue coordination centres (MRCCs). In the European Union, Directive 92/29/EEC requires each member state to designate one or more medical advice centres.
Call the coastguard first
Contact the coastguard or MRCC, not a hospital directly. It records your position and problem, then connects you to the TMAS doctor. If the doctor advises an evacuation, the MRCC is already involved and can arrange rescue. Calling a friend who is a doctor does not automatically alert the MRCC.
Some national services
In the UK, call HM Coastguard: it links you to Queen Alexandra Hospital, Portsmouth, or Aberdeen Royal Infirmary. In France, call CROSS, France’s coastguard centres, for the maritime medical consultation centre (CCMM) in Toulouse. In Spain, call Salvamento Marítimo, the maritime rescue service, for the Centro Radio-Médico Español of the Instituto Social de la Marina in Madrid. Italy’s International Radio Medical Centre (CIRM) in Rome advises vessels of any flag.
How to make contact
Use very high frequency (VHF) radio: digital selective calling (DSC) or Channel 16. Farther offshore, use medium-frequency (MF) DSC. Mobile and satellite phones are backups: a radio call also reaches nearby vessels and coast stations. Far offshore, contact the responsible MRCC by satellite; see GMDSS (Global Maritime Distress and Safety System).
2Key data
- TMAS
- Doctors advising vessels at sea, 24 h, free of charge
- First contact
- Coastguard/MRCC, which connects you to the TMAS
- UK
- HM Coastguard → QA Hospital Portsmouth or Aberdeen Royal Infirmary
- France
- CROSS → CCMM Toulouse
- Spain
- Salvamento Marítimo → Centro Radio-Médico Español (ISM, Madrid)
- Italy
- CIRM, Rome: vessels of any flag
3Key points
- 1
TMAS doctors advise any vessel at sea, day and night, free of charge.
- 2
Call the coastguard/MRCC first; it connects you to the doctor.
- 3
Going through the MRCC means an evacuation can be arranged without delay.
- 4
Use VHF DSC, Channel 16 or MF DSC; phones only as a backup.
- 5
Know your area's service before you sail: HM Coastguard, CROSS, Salvamento Marítimo.
4Frequent mistakes
Wrong: Phone the nearest hospital directly from your mobile.
Right: Call the coastguard. It connects you to the TMAS doctor and can start an evacuation at once.
Wrong: Radio medical advice is only for merchant ships.
Right: Any vessel at sea, including yachts, can ask for telemedical advice, free of charge.
5Practice case & exam keys
Twenty-five miles off Brittany, a crew member has severe abdominal pain that is getting worse. You have a mobile phone signal and a friend ashore who is a nurse. What do you do?
Show the answer
Call the CROSS on VHF DSC or Channel 16 and ask for medical advice. The CROSS records your position and the problem, then connects you to the CCMM doctor in Toulouse. If the doctor advises evacuation, the CROSS arranges it. Calling your friend alone does not alert the CROSS; contact it directly. Keep the phone as a backup line.
Exam keys
- TMAS: free 24 h medical advice for vessels at sea, linked to MRCCs (IAMSAR).
- Contact the coastguard/MRCC first, by VHF DSC, Ch 16 or MF DSC.
- UK HM Coastguard; France CROSS → CCMM; Spain Salvamento Marítimo → CRME; Italy CIRM.
- Phones only as a backup: they do not alert nearby stations.
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