Preventive Medicine

In accordance with the directives of  the ILO , in its Conventions 16, on the Medical Examination of Young Persons, 73, on the Medical Examination of Seafarers, and 113, on the Medical Examination of Fishermen, the ISM  provides free medical examinations for sea-service to all sea workers.

These examinations, which are compulsory and take place prior to the employment of sea workers, aim to ensure that an applicant's psychological and physical condition is compatible with the characteristics of their job post and does not entail any risk for the health and safety of the individual or the rest of the crew. Nor should an applicant's condition put maritime navigation at risk.

Medical examinations not only guarantee that workers go on board ships in the best possible psychological and physical condition, but also, from a health care perspective, provide a starting point for assessing the health of the working population, which is extremely useful if a worker requires on-board medical attention from any of the health care units that make up the Maritime Health Care Programme.

To be eligible to undergo the medical examination for sea-service, in accordance with Royal Decree 1696/2007, of 14 December, the interested parties, who must be over the age of 18 and not in a situation of temporary disability or sick leave, or in a period of employment relationship suspension due to risk during pregnancy, must request it at any of the Maritime Health Care Centres of the ISM, in the Provincial Directorates and Local Offices of the ISM, and meet the following requirements:

• Applicants with Spanish nationality must submit their seafarer's discharge book and a document certifying that they have passed the basic training course or equivalent in compliance with section A-VI/1 of the Training Code of the STCW-78/95 Convention.
• Citizens of the European Union or any country that is part of the European Economic Area Agreement must submit their foreigner identity number, passport or residence card and be in possession of a certificate proving that they have passed the basic training course or equivalent in compliance with section A-VI/1 of the Training Code of the STCW-78/95 Convention.
• Citizens of countries that are not included in the foregoing paragraphs must submit their foreigner identity number, passport or residence card and work permit or equivalent authorisation, along with a certificate proving that they have passed the basic training course or equivalent in compliance with section A-VI/1 of the Training Code of the STCW-78/95 Convention.
• Professional divers must also have active contributor or assimilated contributor status in the Social Security's Special Scheme for Sea Workers. Likewise, they must provide a seafarer's discharge book including a record of the last three years and an underwater activities log book.

In any event, the ISM forewarns workers of the periodic medical examinations for sea service by sending them information letters reminding them that their previous examination has expired and that they need to attend for renewal at any of the Maritime Health Care Centres of the ISM, in the Provincial Directorates and Local Offices of the ISM.

The period of validity for these medical examinations is determined in each case by the doctor performing the examination, who carries them out according to the worker's health condition, age and type of work to be undertaken. The maximum period of validity is generally two years or one year for young persons under the age of 21 and adults over the age of 50.

The information gathered during the medical examinations for sea service is used to design and run preventive health advertising campaigns.

These campaigns are the fourth step in the preventive actions carried out by provincial and local maritime health care centres (Provincial Directorates and Local Offices of the ISM). They aim to increase health awareness among sea workers by involving these in their own health and providing them with the necessary tools to avoid the pathologies that most commonly affect this group.

The campaigns are on issues such as:

• Sexually-transmitted disease prevention, especially AIDS.
• Malaria prevention.
• Drug addiction prevention.
• Industrial risk prevention in the Sector.
• On-board accident prevention.
• On-deck risk prevention.

Vaccination campaigns are implemented through the Maritime Health Care Centres, located in the Provincial Directorates and Local Offices of the ISM, either working independently or with other Public Health Organisations.

In addition, many Maritime Health Care Centres carry out important preventive work by running national, provincial and local vaccination campaigns against particularly serious diseases such as tetanus, influenza and hepatitis B.