OREANDA-NEWS. A delegation from Russian Railways led by Company Vice President Oleg Atkov attended the Congress of the International Union of Railway Medical Services (UIMC), which was held in Sydney in Australia from 8 to 11 October 2013.

The Congress, which brought together leading railway doctors from 14 countries, discussed issues such as standardising approaches to medical examinations and establishing uniform criteria for the medical examination of railway employees. Technical solutions for remote testing of locomotive crews to be tested for alcohol and drugs using intranets and the Internet were presented at the Congress.

A key theme was the psychological rehabilitation of railway employees who ensure train safety.

In his report, Oleg Atkov presented the experience of the Russian Railways in organising and developing mobile consultation and diagnostic centres (MCDCs), which are equipped with modern diagnostic and mobile telemedicine equipment. Known as “health trains,” the MCDCs travel regularly to remote train stations and have become a project at national government level: in 2006, the team which developed the concept was awarded a science and technology prize by the Government of the Russian Federation.

The Congress considered, greatly appreciated the experience of Russian Railways in train medical safety and stressed the importance of common approaches to teaching railway medicine to doctors in accordance with certification standards for experts.

It is expected that the results of the Congress will be presented to the management companies of the participating countries and the European Commission.

The Congress concluded with a decision to hold the UIMC Congress in Russia in 2015.