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Medical

A step-by-step plan for keeping a household healthy when hospitals, ambulances and pharmacies may be out of reach for a long time. It covers a health assessment and needs profile, chronic conditions, training, kits, safe medicine storage on solar power, prevention, diarrhoea, bites, infectious disease, remote advice and a plan for when no help is coming.

Why it matters

On a remote estate an injury or a missed prescription can turn serious before help arrives. Most of the risk is reduced by preparation: trained people, the right kit in the right places, medicines stored correctly, and clear rules for when to call for advice or leave. Health needs also drive design loads for power, refrigeration, water and room layout, so they must be known early. This module never replaces your clinicians; it helps you work with them from a distance.

Know your household's health needs (Plan)

1. Do a household health assessment with your own doctor medical-1
2. Plan for medical devices that need power, cold or supplies medical-2
3. Plan extra supplies of essential prescriptions with your clinician and pharmacist medical-3
4. Build a household needs profile: pregnancy, babies, children, older, disabled and power-dependent people, pets medical-4
5. Plan for chronic conditions: diabetes, dialysis and severe allergy medical-28
6. Build a paper health file and a grab copy medical-5
7. Know the legal limits of helping and of carrying medicines medical-29

Train the people before buying the gear (Plan)

1. Get first aid, CPR and AED training for every adult and teen medical-6
2. Take a bleeding control (Stop the Bleed) course medical-7
3. Add wilderness or remote first aid training medical-8
4. Run medical drills with the family medical-9

Kits, medical room and medicine storage (Design)

1. Set up personal and vehicle kits medical-10
2. Stock the household first aid kit from an official list medical-11
3. Design a small medical room or cupboard medical-12
4. Store medicines correctly: temperature, humidity, light and rotation medical-13
5. Keep insulin and other cold-chain medicines cold on solar power medical-14
6. Choose home monitoring devices and decide on an AED medical-15

Prevent illness and injury (Run)

1. Make hand hygiene and sanitation routine medical-16
2. Keep drinking water and food safe medical-17
3. Treat diarrhoea with oral rehydration salts medical-30
4. Prevent mosquito and tick bites medical-31
5. Know basic wound and bite care and when a wound needs a clinician medical-18
6. Look after teeth and know dental first aid medical-19
7. Protect eyes and keep spare vision aids medical-20
8. Prevent chainsaw, tool and burn injuries medical-21
9. Prevent carbon monoxide poisoning, heat illness and cold injury medical-22
10. Look after mental health and stress medical-23

Infectious disease and pandemics (Run)

1. Plan a sick room and one caregiver medical-34
2. Stock masks and disinfectant and agree an outbreak routine medical-35

Remote care, evacuation and upkeep (Run)

1. Set up remote contact with clinicians medical-24
2. Know the warning signs and decide when to evacuate medical-25
3. Decide what to do when no help is coming medical-33
4. Plan casualty transport and routes to care medical-26
5. Keep the inventory, expiry dates and kits up to date medical-27

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