CX Top Gun Part 2
A true Yammer hero... Just do your job and STFU about it!
Flying back from MEL to HKG at FL380, I was about to finish my rest when the cabin crew woke me up to say the flight deck needed me. On my return I found out that one of our passengers was suffering from chest pains and had difficulty breathing. It was F/O’s rest so I said I’ll take over and he could rest and if needed, we will call him later for a possible diversion to CEBU if needed within the next 60 min.
A Dr had been paged and the ISM and SP entered the flight deck and advised us that they had tried to contact Med link but were not successful as the SATCOM in the cabin was not working. We told them to use the flight deck SATCOM which the S/O efficiently set up for them, handled the connection and reminded SP how to use the mic. Contact with MEDLINK was successful and a range of drugs were advised. The onboard Dr administered the drugs and on completion wanted to talk directly to MEDLINK as he felt the passenger had just suffered a mild heart attack and he needed / wanted more clarification.
As the Satcom in the cabin was not working this left us with a dilemma - How does the Dr talk directly to MEDLINK without braking(sp) company policy and entering the flight deck in flight?
We ascertained that the patient was in a stabile condition after discussion with the Dr, but he still needed to say something to MEDLINK as he had a concern.
I asked the crew to wake up F/O. I asked F/O to please sit on the flight deck incase the medical condition deteriorated and I had no choice but to divert and get the Dr up to talk to the MEDLINK Drs. FO was an insurance package incase this Dr was part of some large sinister scheme - I needed some kind of back up plan.
With FO on the flight deck, SP, and the ISM I decided to first call IOC and get approval for the Dr to communicate with MEDLINK via the flight deck SAT phone. I needed to go through the correct channels first as the passenger was not in a critical condition and there was time.
The reply came back from IOC that he was not allowed onto the flight deck to talk to MEDLINK. This was the correct reply as discussed with the duty manager the situation was not critical, so we needed another plan.
I asked if we could relay messages from the Dr on the jet to the Drs on the GND in Phoenix. This I knew was a communication boo boo, but had no option as the Dr still needed to talk to MEDLINK. As the Dr was english speaking I asked FO or SP to take notes. FO went back and took very detailed notes from the Dr. He then returned to the flight deck to brief me so I could relay to MEDLINK. As there would have been ANOTHER level to the communication, I told FO (CN training in 3 weeks) to call MEDLINK and pass on all the information that the Dr onboard needed to say.
I asked the crew on the flight deck if I may non standard record the conversation as FO spoke and also the reply from the Dr in Phoenix. I got their approval and this way the Dr on board could listen to the send message and receive message first hand for himself - We had just removed the flight deck door without unlocking it. (A bit out of the box i guess).
This letter is to highlight the wonderful CRM my entire crew displayed today.
As some crew were dealing with the sick passenger, others were absorbing their workload by serving and keeping the remaining passengers happy during a meal service. 5 cabin crew served the entire jet starters, dinner, desert and tea / coffee.
After the flight we all debriefed as a crew - I was proud to be the captain on that flight.
The communication between the ISM, The SP, and the flight deck was amazing.
IOC was clear and concise and went into tracking mode to follow us and provide support.
The Duty manager spoke to me directly on a phone patch and we supported each other well.
FO took charge of the cabin communication like a true captain and I have no doubt his command will be a walk in the park with his leadership skills shown today.
ISM was cool and collect. She streamlined the operation by taking control, the radios and finding references in the OPS A with ease. (She is similar to Google on legs..Smart)
If possible please could someone from IOC, ISD and Flight OPS say a word of thanks to these truly amazing people.