Emergency care needs of illegal immigrants arriving to Tenerife Island in “Cayucos”

Objectives: To determine the health problems of immigrants arriving on the coast of

Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain) in small boats, a new means of transport for this

purpose, and to describe the type of first aid they require.

Material and methods: Cross-sectional study. The first-aid field stations were attended

by staff of the Canary Islands Emergency Service and the Spanish Red Cross. Additionally,

if the number of arriving immigrants exceeded the ability of the staff to cope, they were

joined by a team from a primary care clinic. All immigrants who arrived on Tenerife over

a period of 1 year (October 22, 2005 through October 21, 2006) were studied. Data

recorded included diagnoses made upon arrival, referrals, and reasons for referral.

Results: A total of 17184 immigrants arrived. All were assessed in the initial triage and

649 (3.7%) were found to need medical care. Of those, 447 (68.9%) were treated at the

point of arrival, and 202 (31.1%) had to be transferred to health-care facilities. One

hundred three patients (23%) received on-site treatment for hypothermia, 79 (17.6%)

for hypoglycemia, 37 for skin lesions (8.2%), 21 (4.6%) for minor injuries (4.6%), 15

(3.3%) for scabies, and 14 (3.1%) for abdominal pain. In 16 cases (3.5%) no diagnosis

was recorded. The main reasons for transferring patients to health care facilities were

dehydration in 28 cases (13.8%), cuts on extremities in 22 (10.8%), burns in 18 (8.9%),

hypothermia in 16 (7.9%), abdominal pain in 14 (6.9%), hypoglycemia in 8 (3.9%),

vomiting in 8 (3.9%), nonspecific malaise in 6 (2.9%), hypotension in 3 (1.4%), and

chest trauma in 3 (1.4%).

Conclusions: The arrival of immigrants in small boats requires considerable deployment

of health-care providers outside the hospital setting, even though the great majority of

immigrants are in apparently good health. A third of those in need of care must be

transferred to health-care facilities.