Medical Procedure for 2024

Please notice that the Medical Questionnaire and Examination form for the EGRIP 2024 field season, includes statement on covid-19 vaccination status under the vaccinations section (page 10). Full vaccination against covid-19 including minimum one booster shot is required.

To reduce the risk of COVID-19 at EGRIP, please read the EGRIP COVID-19 antigen testing procedure for Kangerlussuaq and for EastGRIP camp here.

The medical test is valid for two years for those younger than 65 years. Participants with an approved medical (including dentist declaration) from 2023 can therefore re-used the medical, but still it must be submitted to the medical system together with a medical declaration. For new EGRIP participants and participants older than 65 years the medical declaration is not required, but need a new medical examination.

If any questions, please email Iben koldtoft on email logistics@egrip.camp.

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Liability and Insurance in Case of Accidents and Evacuation

The EastGRIP project aims to have a medical doctor/physician in camp at all times, and is prepared to arrange medical evacuation to a medical facility on the Greenlandic coast of a field participant or visitor if deemed necessary by the doctor and field leader. However, participation in the EastGRIP field work or visits to the EastGRIP camp is at the participant’s (and/or their institution’s) own risk, and each participant (or his/her institution) is responsible for medical clearance (see below) and proper insurance cover.

Each institution should be prepared to contribute to costs related to evacuation of their participants from camp to a medical facility at the coast, and in particular, each participant (or their institution) is responsible for securing cover of costs of medical treatment and repatriation (and/or for taking out insurance against these costs).

In extreme cases, a Search and Rescue operation (SAR) may be necessary. Once initiated, a SAR is carried out by the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) Denmark, and is out of the hands of the EastGRIP project. The JRCC staff collects and distributes essential information concerning a distress situation, arranges the dispatch of rescue assets to aircraft or ships in distress and coordinates the efforts of all responding resources. Read more at (SAR Denmark). Each nation is responsible for covering SAR costs for their participants (and/or for taking out insurance against this cost).

All field participants are required to sign a liability waiver accepting these terms before boarding a plane to EastGRIP.

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Medical Screening

All participants going to EastGRIP camp for field work (except for short visits, see below) are required to pass a health examination and screening prior to being accepted in the field. Our EGRIP medical team in Denmark handles this. Please read the guidelines and deadlines below.

Guests at EastGRIP

You are not subject to the medical approval procedure if you are visiting the EastGRIP camp for a week or less during a period of flights to/from camp. During flight periods, a plane will be available for prompt evacuation. However, due to the high altitude and harsh conditions on the ice sheet, visitors should be in a healthy condition.

If in doubt, we advise visitors to have a standard health check performed by a doctor before going to the EastGRIP camp.

Please notice, visitors at EastGRIP need documentation of vaccination against covid-19.

You are always welcome to contact the EGRIP medical team (medicals@egrip.camp) if you have further questions.

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Medical Questionnaire and Examination

Field participants staying for more than a week are required to pass a health examination and screening prior to being accepted in the field. Usually it takes at least 1-4 weeks to get all results from a medical test. Test results should be uploaded at latest 6 weeks before going to the field through a personal link sent to you from medicals@egrip.camp for final approval.

Participants from countries that already have a national medical test procedure for polar field work can normally use that test.

Participants from Denmark or countries with no established national test procedure should use an appropriate clinic and the standard test procedure given in the Medical Questionnaire and Examination form for EGRIP field work (not valid for Antarctica). The field participant completes the first part of the form, while a doctor conducts a medical test and fills in the second part of the form. You will need a statement from your dentist and the Liability Waiver as described above. These forms are part of your medical papers.

For the EGRIP 2024 season the medical test is valid for two years for those younger than 65 years. An approved medical (including dentist declaration) from 2023 can therefore be re-used, but still it must be submitted to the medical system together with a medical declaration.
However, some medical conditions may require further/newer tests. If this is the case, you will be contacted by the EGRIP medical team. Please keep in mind that the medical team needs to have your medical documents uploaded, before they can contact you. Therefore, we advise you to upload your 2023-medical as quickly as possible.

As a new thing, participants older than 65 years need a medical examination every year.

For new EGRIP participants the medical declaration is not required, but you have to upload all the other three documents.

It is your responsibility that the forms is uploaded 6 weeks before the planned outward travel date in order to have it evaluated by the Medical Unit. Do not rely on the testing facility to send the test results.

The medical papers may in some occasions be uploaded later than the 6 weeks, but then please contact us on logistics@egrip.camp for an exemption. Do not submit medical documents by email.

Bear in mind, if a part of your test fails and needs to be repeated you might not be able to go to the field as planned.

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Submission of Medical Test Results

Once you are on the EGRIP manning plan, you will receive information about the medical procedure, including links to the document templates. You will soon receive a personal e-mail from EastGRIP Medical (medicals@egrip.camp) with information on where and how to submit your documents securely. The participant will receive a unique ID in order to follow status on the approval procedure.

If you have not received this e-mail (please check your inbox and spam filter) by the start of March 2024, please contact Iben Koldtoft.

It is the field participant’s own responsibility to make sure that the Medical Questionnaire and Examination including all test results papers, dental declaration and Liability Waiver are uploaded.

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Confidentiality

All information about you and your health held by the Medical Unit is confidential (as you would expect with any health records). However, it might be necessary to involve non-medical staff of the EastGRIP Project (e.g. the Field Leader and Field Operation Manager) in case of organizing evacuation of personnel due to Greenlandic rules.

Non-medical staff is only involved when it is necessary for the safety of you or your colleagues. Information might then be passed to relevant people in the EastGRIP project on a strictly “need to know” basis to assist with planning of operations. All involved individuals are required to respect the confidentiality of such medical information.

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Testing Facility for Danish Participants

Make an appointment about an Arctic medical with:

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