Author(s): Ben Macfarlane

Travel Writing

Who gets the call if it all goes wrong at sea?Meet Dr Ben MacFarlane. After spending a year as a repatriation doctor, he's heading around the world as a ship's doctor - and with 3,000 passengers and crew to look after he's in for the most exciting trip of his life.On one dramatic voyage he deals with broken bones and broken hearts, and picks up the pieces after fights in the crew bar and freak accidents on shore leave. So join Ben and his colleagues and find out why ship's doctors think bar stools should carry health warnings, why the casino can be safer than the sick bay in a storm and why no amount of sharks, pirates or tidal waves will ever be as dangerous as the midnight buffet.

About the author:
Ben MacFarlane graduated in medicine from Imperial College, London in 1998 and started carrying out medical repatriations in the spring of 2001. He then spent a year working on the cruise ship circuit and now works full time in a west London teaching hospital.