• Risk assessments are produced by the relevant staff for each location visited (dive site, Felipe Poey) activity undertaken (eg diving, turtle monitoring, transect surveys, etc).

• Staff are required to consult these reports before visiting a new site, undertaking a new activity or participating in a new project.  The risk assessments are continually evaluated and updated.

4.  Development and implementation of safe operating procedures for each of the activities undertaken

• Sign out/in procedures for all groups leaving camps have been put into position and search and recovery procedures for teams missing return and contact deadlines.

• Additional procedures cover aspects such as  hygiene, snorkelling and swimming and many other aspects

• All diving is carried out in accordance with the strict procedures.

5.  Ensuring there are adequate communication, medical and evacuation procedures in position

• The Colony Hotel has handphone and landline telephone connections as well as email. 

• The Marina and Research Centre has handphone connections and radio connections to all the research boats being used. 

• All boats have VHF radios and a check in check out procedure for each journey.

• The hotel has 24 hour nurse cover and a well stocked clinic on site. 

• All boats being used for diving have a First Aid Kit, Oxygen supply and delivery system capable of administering oxygen for sufficient time for transport to the recompression chamber in Nueva Gerona (approximately 1 hour transit time from the marina). All dive staff supervising dives are trained in oxygen administration. 

• The ranger station has a First Aid kit. 

• There are hospitals with good facilities for most possible injuries (eg broken bones, dehydration, tropical diseases) in Nueva Gerona and for serious emergencies then there are really top class hospital facilities in Havana. 

• Evacuation plans for Emergency Priority evacuations (normally by speedboat with ambulance to meet the patient at the marina have been developed for each of the sites. Evacuation plans for High Priority (fastest overland route to a hospital) and Medium Priority (most convenient and comfortable overland route) have also been developed for each site and will be practised before the start of the season.

6.  Training of all volunteers on arrival in the safe operating procedures, and acquainting them with the medical facilities available.

• All volunteers on arrival are given a general health and safety briefing.

• Additional briefings are given by leaders as the volunteers join new projects or visit new areas

7.  Recording all illnesses, accidents, near-misses or incidents which may have a bearing on health and safety and using this information as part of an ongoing refinement of the operating procedures.

• The Medical Officers keep detailed confidential medical records on all staff and volunteers, which are used in combination with accident and 'near miss' data reported by various staff, in compiling accident and illness reports.

General Travel and Health

It is worth checking the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office web pages on travel advice to Cuba.  Both stress that most visits to the country are trouble free but that petty and occasionally, violent crime can be a problem in the country.  The isle of Youth sites where you will be based on the Op Wall expeditions are so remote and unpopulated that this is not likely to be an issue when you are working at these sites. The risk is slightly higher while in Havana, though the local police service is very good.

Please note that before you join the expedition that you should have completed and returned the detailed and confidential medical form sent to you by Operation Wallacea. On occasions these questionnaires reveal conditions that need further investigation before you join the expeditions so please make sure you return the forms as early as possible so that the Operation Wallacea medical staff can check them and make any necessary additional enquiries. Many GPs will usually only be giving advice to holidaymakers. You are going on expedition, living outdoors in fairly remote areas - so make this clear to your GP.

We strongly advise that you see your dentist for a check-up and any necessary treatment 2-3 months before the expedition starts. Usually there is no dental treatment available on expedition.

Vaccinations

You must consult your GP or travel clinic for personal advice and it is also worth checking the NaTHNaC web site for up to date advice. Operation Wallacea are not able to give official advice on inoculations. Some people are not able to have certain jabs, so blanket generalisations cannot be made.

To allow sufficient time for all the necessary immunisations it is recommended that you consult your Doctor or travel clinic two months prior to departure.

We require you to be up-to-date with the following inoculations though:

• Tetanus

• Typhoid

• Hepatitis A

• Polio

• Rabies - The general advice for Cuba is that the rabies vaccine is not necessary, you may however wish to get the vaccination as a precaution.

• Malaria - It is not necessary to take malarial prophylactics if you are travelling to Cuba. There are however a large number of mosquitoes and sandflies, so to prevent being bitten, use precautions including insect repellent; cover exposed skin, use of mosquito nets etc.