Each year about 100 junior doctors at Derriford apply for the training

Some 400 staff are employed by the BAS carrying out vital research work.

The team needs medical back-up, 24 hours a day and their medical care is co-ordinated from a small office in the Accident and Emergency department of Derriford Hospital in Plymouth, 10,000 miles away.

The Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust has provided the medical unit for the BAS for some years and how now been given a contract to continue the work for a further five years.

The contract entails training and sending four doctors each year to Antarctica; health screening all BAS staff, providing medical supplies, equipment and drugs; and being at the end of a phone at times of emergency.

But sometimes it is not possible to carry out on-the-spot diagnosis of illness out in the wilds of Antarctica.

Four doctors are sent to Antarctica each year

So each doctor sent to Antarctica is equipped with a digital camera so they can email images back for specialists to help with diagnosis.

Each year, about 100 junior doctors at Derriford apply for training to join the team.

Those selected are given six months specialist training in Plymouth, and spend between nine and 18 months with the BAS.

Consultant at Derriford's A&E department, Iain Grant, is also senior medical officer with the BAS medical unit.

He said the training programme is vigorous.

"It includes a wide range of experience in emergency care, as well as preparation to manage virtually any medical or surgical problem.

"We have the facilities to support the doctors once they are out there 24 hours a day."