2 The JWG6 received the documents with interest and made a number of comments on them which the original drafters sought to take into account in the new versions annexed to this document.
2.1 It should, however, be noted that as the IMO does not have responsibility for aeronautical matters, the latter aspect, suggested by JWG6 to take account of its joint IMO/ICAO composition, was not incorporated in the new versions. There is nothing to prevent this in the future, through the competent international or national authorities.
2.2 For this reason, this type of service has been given the name "Telemedical Assistance Service", with the acronym TMAS. The latter could be sub-divided, should the competent authorities so wish, into M-TMAS, A-TMAS or J-TMAS, depending on whether the service was to be provided to the maritime sphere alone, the aeronautical sphere alone, or both.
3 The Joint Working Group on Search and Rescue (JWG) should clearly envisage incorporating the content of the two documents, if it is decided to publish them in the form of a circular, in the IAMSAR Manual.
Action requested of the sub-Committee
4 The Sub-Committee is invited to propose the draft MSC circular contained in annex 1 to the Maritime Safety Committee. If the Sub-Committee responds positively, it will decide whether the draft document on medical communications (annex 2) should be a separate document or form the second annex of a single circular.
