ConocoPhillips Norway HSE Coordinator Annelin Havrevoll is an experienced offshore nurse at Ekofisk 2/4 K in the North Sea. She's also a member of the Search And Rescue (SAR) Team, part of an emergency response preparedness system in the Greater Ekofisk Area. 

With a background in emergency medicine, ambulance operations and heart monitoring, Annelin's training has enabled her to recognize serious illnesses, even when the symptomatic picture does not provide obvious answers.

During an incident last summer, her medical training and intuition saved a life. 

'The right decision'

It started out as a regular workday in 2022, with Annelin going about her daily tasks.

But the situation changed quickly when a young, ill patient came into the offshore hospital. Annelin assessed the patient and administered some diagnostic tests, including an electrocardiogram. While the diagnostic measures did not show anything conclusive, her gut feeling told her something was seriously wrong.

Annelin faced a crucial decision – should she trust the instrument results or her own intuition?

In a proactive move, she chose to trust her well-established medical intuition and called on the SAR Team to bring the patient to shore as quickly as possible, which turned out to be a life-saving decision.

During the flight to Stavanger University Hospital, the patient went into cardiac arrest. But because the patient was prepared with all the necessary medical equipment, a defibrillator administered an immediate shock, enabling the patient to regain his own circulation just seconds after cardiac arrest.

At the hospital, doctors treated the man for acute myocardial infarction, and he recovered from his ordeal. Later that day, Annelin called to check on the patient and was able to talk with him.

“That conversation meant a lot," she said. "It was also a confirmation that I had made the right decision."

'There is always someone to call if you need assistance'

“The benefit of working out here is that you are never alone, even though the rest of the team is a quick flight away," Annelin said. "There is always someone to call if you need assistance. SAR came quickly and brought the patient directly to the hospital.”

Annelin said the incident exemplified the importance of a having a well-organized emergency preparedness system and professional training.

“Sometimes you cannot point your finger at what’s wrong, especially in this case, where the equipment did not provide clear indications of severe illness," she said. "I had a feeling that this could be serious and decided to play it safe and send the patient to hospital onshore. This means that we sometimes send healthy patients to shore, but this is crucial for those who seriously need the right help at the right time. It's better to push the red button too many times than one too few.”

VIDEO: Click on the photo above to watch Annelin and her co-workers carry out a SAR training exercise in the Greater Ekofisk Area.

Recognized for her life-saving actions

Medical Director Tatjana Bergsland praised Annelin as well as the offshore medical personnel and SAR Team.

“We are very lucky to have such skilled people at work 24/7," she said. "You need the right competence to perform such assessments as Annelin did, which was crucial for the outcome. The background for these judgements is not knowledge learned overnight but learned by years of experience. Therefore, it is a pleasure to see ConocoPhillips recognizing Annelin’s effort through the Lifesaver Award – very well deserved!"