ViewpointThe death of a British officer-cadet from heat illness
Section snippets
Four problems
The first problem relates to the cadet's initial collapse. In servicemen at the start of their training a fairly large body-mass index increases the risk of developing EHI.5 But this first collapse was surprising because he had been unaffected previously by the heat challenges incurred playing sport. The short run should have been completed within the safe latent period before the core temperature had had an opportunity to reach a dangerous threshold, but some collapses can occur after only a
The inquest
An inquest has two components, the process and the verdict. Although the powers of a British coroner are limited and circumscribed, knowledge that an inquest may follow a death is a salutary check on the activities of professionals and organisations. But if the coroner is to fulfil his or her role, the process must also lower the risk that a similar death should ever re-occur. In this inquest the rationale of the training exercise that led to the cadet's death went unchallenged and an
Questions raised
Does the RMA have any plans for reforming training schedules or does it intend to continue as before? Do the authorities concede that the basic rules of physiology and thermal homoeostasis apply to the officer-cadets of Sandhurst? Do they agree that EHI is both foreseeable and preventable? What advice had the senior medical officer of the RMA given to the commandant?
The US army applies the principle that a commander is responsible for every mishap to the men in his unit. His immediate superior
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