Hi! My name is Linden. From August 2015, I am taking a year off from my training as an anaesthetic doctor in London to work in Madagascar with a team from Mercy Ships and Lifebox. I will be posting updates and reflection on this blog as I go.

For the first time in history, you’re more likely to be killed by a surgically-treatable condition than an infectious disease. However millions of people around the world don’t have access to safe surgery and anaesthesia that can save and transform lives. Mercy Ships and Lifebox are two organisations working hard to see that picture change.

The charity Mercy Ships run the world’s largest non-governmental hospital ship, the Africa Mercy. She is staffed almost entirely by volunteers and brings medical care to some of the world’s poorest people.  I will be joining her during her second field service in Madagascar.

After 2 weeks in the operating theatres on board the ship, I will spend the next several months travelling in a small team of local and international volunteers from Mercy Ships partnering with the NGO Lifebox. We will be bringing vital medical equipment (including pulse oximeters which monitor blood oxygen levels- see below) and team training to hospitals all across Madagascar, supporting them in providing safer surgery and anaesthesia. If you would like to get updates please feel free to subscribe using the button on the right hand side of this blog! You should also be able to access updates via my twitter and Facebook accounts. Thank you for your support and I hope you enjoy the blog!