An Italian yacht designer has teamed up with Marino Alfani to design a catamaran-style hospital boat that could be quickly deployed to difficult-to-reach parts of the world where medical facilities have been destroyed, or where non exist. The style of the boat would allow it closer access to shore where boats with deeper hulls would run aground, making it perfect for situations like earthquakes, shipwrecks or tsunamisto get a medial team on scene within hours.
The hospital boat would be “equipped with state-of-the-art medical examination areas, operating theatres, laboratories, recovery rooms and a hyperbaric chamber (for oxygen therapy). There would be a small helipad on the bridge and a garage accessible from the stern to store an ambulance” that could be deployed to bring patients to the shore as needed. They anticipate it could treat upwards of 50 patients a day, or 1,500 a month.
Recently, the concept boat won a prize at the 2012 Millennium Yacht Design Awards.
The problem? In the idea stage, it’s all about how you sell someone on your idea, and the artists rendering of the hospital boat in action is – childish, would put it mildly. Taking nothing away from the design or the idea (in fact I think it’s a fine idea), the artists renderings are laughable; I had to keep reading the article to determine it wasn’t a joke. It has to be some of the worst photoshopping I’ve seen in a professional document in a long time.
And that could hurt them when they start looking for financial backers.
Andrew Reeves writes the Morning Cable (and other stuff) for Toronto Standard.
