Holiday SOS: The Life-Saving Adventures of a Travelling Doctor

by Ben MacFarlane

Meet Dr Ben MacFarlane. His job is to bring people back to Britain after holiday disasters, gap-year crises, embarrassing incidents on business trips and all the other things that can go wrong when one heads off overseas. Holiday SOS is his story—a year in the life of a very British flying doctor.

Follow MacFarlane as he grabs his medical bag and flies to glamorous locations to help pick up the pieces after another holiday emergency. Dramatic, hilarious or wildly unexpected, emergency medicine doesn't just take place in intensive-care wards when one is a flying doctor; it can happen just across the aisle on the next flight.

Genres: Medical, Nonfiction, Memoir, Travel, Autobiography, Biography, Humor

230 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 11, 2009

Reviews

[Maureen · Rating 4 out of 5]

*My thanks to David Haviland at Thistle Publishing for inviting me to read Holiday SOS. I have given an honest unbiased review in exchange*

Dr Ben MacFarlane gives us a fascinating insight into his time as a flying doctor, repatriating British patients back to the UK, after various medical mishaps in locations all around the world!

His cases vary from the excruciatingly embarrassing (but amusing) incidents, to the really sad ones including a patient who, within days of arriving at his holiday destination is taken ill and receives the worst possible diagnosis, but despite that, the patient is determined to embrace life to the full and informs Dr MacFarlane that he will make a return visit the following year. Sadly I doubt that he did.

What a delightful memoir this was. There’s plenty of laughter, along with the tears, and although some of the medical procedures and illnesses which involve bodily fluids might well leave some of you feeling a little queasy, it was still a great read, and I’m left with a sense of what a fantastic job these people do, often in very difficult circumstances without the backup and support that they would get in a hospital situation. It’s not just medical competence that’s required either but someone who’s able to create a sea of calm for a patient who’s scared and a long way from home. This was a light hearted and refreshing read and I would definitely recommend it.

[*TUDOR^QUEEN* · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to Thistle Publishing who provided an advance reader copy via NetGalley.

Ben MacFarlane is a doctor who works in "repatriation." That is, when people from England go on holiday and find themselves in a medical predicament, Ben fetches them from the country they travelled to. This is paid for by insurance companies. These unfortunate patients planned on a nice vacation, but instead are in hospital in various states of medical calamity. Ben gets his mission of where he has to travel, reviews the case file of the patient, packs the appropriate medical bag and sets off to accompany his charge on their return to England.

The stories in this book are all real cases Dr. MacFarlane experienced while performing as a repatriation doctor. When Dr. MacFarlane meets the patient at their hospital in another country, he speaks to the doctors, reviews their medical files and examines the patient himself. He must decide if the patient is capable of travelling home. In most of these stories, the patients were deemed worthy of travel, but a medical crisis ensued during the flight/transport home. It was quite interesting and sometimes riveting reading of Dr. MacFarlane's quick action; determining what would help these patients and his execution of life-saving medical treatment. It is actually awe-inspiring to think of so much responsibility in a person's hands. Whilst performing in such a critical and responsible role, he still finds pleasure in experiencing as much of the various locales he travels to while off-duty. In fact, he butters up one of the workers at the office with fine chocolate when she throws a really nice hotel accommodation his way.

I consider the book cover to be ill-designed. It looks rather comical like the book is not an authentic recounting of a real doctor's experiences. It reminds me of a comic book cover. Maybe it was chosen to lighten the aura of the seriousness of the stories, but I think they should consider a cover change. I didn't realize until the end chapter that this was a real doctor's experiences, culled from Dr. Ben MacFarlane's diaries.

There were quite a lot of stories in this book and I grew rather tired of having to hit the reset button to learn of yet another patient and their trials and tribulations. There was also a backstory of a budding relationship between a stewardess and Dr. Ben, and also the camaraderie between the office personnel. Maybe if there was a bit more personal backstory to Dr. MacFarlane I'd have made a better connection to the book. It wasn't exactly boring, but it didn't totally grab me either.

[Valerity (Val) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Holiday SOS: The Life-Saving Adventures of a Travelling Doctor

I really found this book an exciting and quick paced read as I followed British doctor Ben MacFarlane on his fascinating work doing repatriations as he travels to bring different patients back home after they have had accidents or fallen ill while on vacation. I’d never heard of a job like this and loved reading about it. The cases were interesting to read about and well detailed. He shared how he flew to the patient, checked them out with their current physician, nurse, etc. and examines them himself, then gets them ready to fly back to the UK to another hospital. There they will be looked after until they are well enough to be discharged to their home. Many of the locations were fun and exotic to travel destinations, making this job a real perk in lots of ways, along with all of the flyer miles, for those who love travel and meeting new people. But it did have a crushing effect on his original relationship, as his girlfriend complained that he was gone all of the time.

Dr. Ben did share his more heart-pounding cases for the book, where things got scary on the return trip and he had to show his expertise enroute. But he’s a veritable Macgyver of the skies, it turns out. This book is a no-brainer for anyone who thinks they’d be interested in checking it out. Go ahead and give it a try. I suspect you may like it. My thanks for the advance electronic copy that was provided by NetGalley, author Ben MacFarlane, and the publisher for my fair review.

3.5 of 5 Stars

Thistle Publishing - 230 pages
Pub: Nov 8th, 2018

My BookZone blog:
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[Sherri Thacker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. This book really opened my eyes to doctors who travel like Dr. Ben McFarlane does and if I did need a doctor while on holiday, I would love it to be someone like him. He sure saw his fair share of illnesses. All different kind of scenerios which I think would be a fascinating job getting to travel all around the world like that. I want to thank Thistle Publishing for this book in return for my honest review.

[TL *Humaning the Best She Can* · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for free with Kindle Unlimited
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Interesting Read.. this was another part of the medical field I hadn't even thought about, eep ! Surprised insurances would cover the costs. (Only some not all, looked it up).

If that ever happens to me, I hope I get someone like the people in this book 👍🏼.

My hats off to everyone who works this corner of the medical world.👏

My hats off to Ben for not losing his cool with the more difficult patients.

[Casey · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful page-turner of a book! Very engaging with lots of human drama, some oddball characters, and plenty of kindness. This book was a nice counterbalance to my usual diet of grisly history and depressing current events. And it helped restore my faith in human beings.

[The Cats’ Mother · Rating 5 out of 5]

I saw this in my newsfeed when a friend reviewed it, and given that I work in Travel Medicine, was keen to read it myself, so was very happy to find it on NG as Read Now. I think it should be required reading for any health professional who sees patients pre-travel, and will be recommending it to all my colleagues. We spend a lot of time talking about the prevention of scary-sounding infectious diseases like yellow fever and typhoid, but the reality is that far more travellers are killed or hospitalised overseas for injuries, often sustained doing things they wouldn’t dream of back home. Unfortunately there’s no vaccine against stupidity. This book is a sobering reminder of some of the worst things that can happen to a holiday-maker, written by the white night who comes to save them.

Ben McFarlane works as a repatriation doctor, which involves travelling anywhere in the world to retrieve sick or injured patients, assess their fitness to travel, and escort them home. Things don’t always go according to plan. Written in 2009, based on events from the early 2000s, this is being republished now. The cover makes it look light-hearted and fun, but the book is full of gory medical details and is probably not for the squeamish. I couldn’t believe that one doctor could experience so many near-disasters, but the afterword explains that while they are all true stories, names and details have been changed to protect the sometimes-innocent, and that this is a fictionalised amalgamation of the most interesting and outrageous cases. I suspect a completely true to life account would not make nearly such an entertaining read.

Ben comes across as an irreverent and laidback medic, but who shows both balls of steel, amazing ingenuity and resourcefulness, and the patience of a saint with people who really shouldn’t be allowed a passport. I veered from feeling like this was a job I could enjoy, to feeling exhausted just reading about the constant travel, overnights, stressful situations, fast turnarounds and inability to plan much of a social life. This is a young and preferably single persons’ job, but the experiences he has would certainly be amazing.
You don’t need to know anything about medicine to enjoy this, but reading this will ensure you take out comprehensive insurance for all future overseas trips (and thank the stars for the NHS if you’re British).

Many thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Claudia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dr. Ben MacFarlane is a medical doctor who lives in England and has the interesting job of travelling to foreign countries - although he might do the same job within Great Britain although none of his stories seem to be within the borders - and accompanying tourists from their vacation location, home to England after they have had a medical issue. Could be a heart attack. Maybe a skiing accident that left the patient with a broken leg. Car, moped, sailing accident that leaving multiple injuries and they all just want to get home.

And his tales are not all trips crossing the globe. A new nurse hire, Rebecca, tries to settle herself into the organization (most jobs come through insurance or private hires) but doesn't feel that her skill level is equal to possible demands. The boss of the company is dealing with a cancer scare. Ben finds himself with a new girl friend - a airline attendant with just as wild a work schedule as he has.

Exotic locales and just as many personalities - some good, some - - well, we'll blame the pain for their bad tempers, sarcastic and/or bigoted comments - - some are just nice people that had not nice things happen to their bodies in the most inconvenient places.

Interesting and I think I may investigate his next book where he is the doctor on a cruise ship.

2022-150

[Mandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fantastically enjoyable read! I never even knew that there were such people as repatriation doctors or nurses. I’d never even really thought about how people who are injured or who are taken ill whilst abroad actually make it home, but of course now it makes perfect sense. In many cases someone trained has to go out to retrieve them and care for them en route. This book tells of some of the scenarios these competent and caring health professionals have to face – and they certainly face some challenging situations. I’m pretty sure they don’t face back-to-back crises as are portrayed here – at least, I hope not! – but a bit of poetic licence doesn’t go amiss and I was gripped throughout. If ever I get injured abroad I hope I get sent someone as capable as the doctor portrayed here, anyway. And I just know I won’t be able to help myself if I see someone ill or injured at an airport – I will just have to sneak a peek ( ever so discreetly of course) to see who they have with them. An absolutely compelling short book, great fun to read, and a timely reminder to perhaps take a bit of extra care when travelling.

[Literary Redhead · Rating 4 out of 5]

A truly funny, unique and absorbing medical memoir by the author, a “modern flying doctor,” who recounts a year in his life traveling to help people with medical crises on vacation or business. I never knew such a doc existed and he’ll captivate you with tales of galloping to the rescue via the deep blue skies. 4/5

Pub Date 08 Nov 2018

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the review copy. Opinions are mine.

#HolidaySos #NetGalley

[Nan Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not my normal style for reading, but I found it thoroughly enjoyable. It was an account of a doctor employed in a medical rescue company catering to repatriating travelers for insurance companies. Sounds pretty dull, huh? Well, I would normally have thought so, too, but it was anything but dull! Each chapter had our protagonist traveling to a different locale to bring home a traveler who had had some sort of medical emergency or mishap and was unable to travel on his own.

In addition to the vignettes of the victims (and their returns home), there were a couple of auxiliary stories throughout the book that tied everything nicely together, making a good flow for the disparate experiences.

I highly recommend this memoir as it was well written, entertaining and enlightening. It was just plain enjoyable. I hope the author will write more.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Thistle Publishing, for an ARC of this book. This review will be published immediately on Good Reads and with Amazon when the hard copy is released.

[Linda Quick · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a memoir that reads like a novel. From the first page, I found myself pulled into the life and travels of the traveling doctor. His stories are at times funny, and at times poignant, but always engaging and entertaining, while sharing a glimpse of how repatriation works and the patients that require it.

I have to confess that before stumbling upon this book, I never really gave a thought to how repatriation worked when someone became ill or injured when far from home.....and that's after a career in health care. Also, I don't think I'll ever again travel overseas without buying travel insurance.

I devoured this book in one sitting and highly recommend it. While those interested in the subject will love this book, a casual reader will also enjoy it . Put this one at the top of your TBR list and be very careful in your travels.

[Dun's · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ben MacFarlane's book is filled with stories about British holidaymakers who experienced medical problems or mishaps while being abroad. His job as a traveling doctor, contracted by travel insurance companies, is to monitor the traveler's health and accompany them to return to the UK safely.

It made my head spin a bit reading about how he went on one trip for 2-3 days (duration varied depending on the client's health condition and complication), and immediately followed by another trip to a different country. Regardless of how beautiful these places can be, the jet lag must have been a killer.

All in all, a very fun, humorous, and insightful book. I look forward to reading his second book in the series.

[Sally · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ben the flying doctor safely bringing people home after their mishaps aboard which see them ending up in hospital rather than a hotel! It’s not all as simple as it sounds. From medical emergency midair to some rather horrible patients this book is a warts and all book. I really enjoyed the medical side of it and it brought back memories of working for the good old NHS and the huge variety of people who are cared for by it. I really take my hat off to anyone doing repatriations, I certainly wouldn’t have the bottle to do it! The book is really easy to read and I flew through it!

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anyone who enjoys the 'Babylon' series will enjoy Holiday SOS - the tall tales and adventures of a repatriation Doctor. It seems that Ben MacFarlane is the non de plume of a 45 year old consultant. He is good friends with Neil Simpson who writes celebrity biographies - between them they have produced a great book. Witty, funny, emotional in places and often downright unbelievable! It really is amazing what some people get up to when they are away from home!

[Sharon]

Great book, I could hardly put it down. Some of the stories in here, about cases that went wrong as poor Ben brought them back to the UK, were just facinating. If you like medical stories or just intresting tales, this is a good book. (although I would avoid taking it on a overseas holiday, it would just make me a bit paranoid)

[Marshall · Rating 4 out of 5]

The word interesting is overused these days, and thus is somewhat bereft of meaning. It applies to this book, though: I'd never even thought of the need for repatriation doctors, so this all took me a little bit off-guard. In the bookstore, I thought it looked like one of those breezy Babylon books - a fun read, something for a plane. It turned out to be more substantial than those, while still being a very engaging book. The author was a repatriation doctor, working for a private firm in London whose staff of medical professionals (both doctors and nurses) travelled the globe on behalf of insurance companies and wealthy private individuals to return sick and injured people to the UK. The stories are presented in a sort of narrative arc. The technique works here, and the stories themselves have the same out-of-left-field quality. So what exactly do you do when, say, the patient you're transporting back from the US experiences complications halfway across the Atlantic... at the same time a baby in another compartment has a seizure? Or when you land in a less-than-accommodating Middle Eastern country whose airport security thugs decline to acknowledge your medical credentials and put a gravely ill patient's life at risk? Or when a routine job turns out to be retrieving a patient with a serious mental illness, who goes berserk at the ticket counter, shits on the floor, and wipes his butt with his boarding pass?

For what this is, I'd actually have given it another star, but I thought one thing was a bit lacking in the writing: the author (and the ghostwriter he worked with, who is also credited) has a gift for explaining the medical stuff and the human side of things in a way that makes them very accessible, but doesn't do so well with establishing setting. Perhaps this is a function of his limited time in each locale, but even when he has more time in places like Cairo and Barcelona, places that are new to him, you still don't get a strong sense of place. This isn't a fatal flaw by any means. It's not totally overlooked, either, just an aspect of the writing that's consistently weaker than it could be.

The only other caveat is that some of these tales are best not read while you're eating.

Highly recommended.

[Liralen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Laughter isn’t the best medicine. Feeling in safe hands is. (9)

Well, that was a good bit of fun. I'd probably drop dead of stress if I had this sort of job (too much sole responsibility for life and death), but I love reading about this sort of job. All the things I've never considered! A lot of grim jobs (and probably a lot of boredom in between), but it definitely sounds like one would never be able to run out of challenges, no matter how hard they tried. I've been hoping to read Flight Risk for quite some time but haven't managed to get hold of a copy yet (might have better luck in the UK, when it's no longer 2020 and travel isn't completely irresponsible), but luckily MacFarlane has a follow-up, so it's safe to say that I'll be borrowing that soon.

I did decide, for better or for worse, that MacFarlane and I are not destined to be friends: I'm always reading newspaper articles saying you should take a book to a restaurant to remove the stigma of eating alone, he says. But I read enough books waiting out delays in airport terminals. The last thing I want is to read even more over dinner. (57)

And, on a more serious note, it's worth mentioning that there's a fair bit of fat-shaming in here, along with a transphobic anecdote. Those things aren't everywhere in the book, but they did bring the whole thing down.

A brief typo list of doom:
can't risk it coming lose again (16)
Now it's my turn to feel chocked up (17)
Jackie's does the school run (49)
I know exactly what kind of risks your taking (50)
leaves Cairo in under and hour (137)
in ten year's time (169)
in four days time (170)
They must have planned to get buy it off (223)

[Jena Henry · Rating 5 out of 5]

A few years ago, I was with a tour group overseas and a lovely older woman tripped over a pile of suitcases. Our group was ready to embark on a 16-day cruise, so she hobbled along with us. But, she soon realized she had indeed injured herself and so she sought medical attention on the cruise ship. At our first port-of-call, she was transferred to a hospital in Stockholm. We learned that she spent a few days there, and then a nurse flew in to escort her back to America. I always wondered how she fared.

Well, after reading Dr. MacFarlane’s engrossing story, I feel much better. If she received the same level of care and compassion that Dr. MacFarlane dispensed, I know that her story ended as happily as most of this author-doctor’s patients.

This book would make a great TV show. The story spans about a year in the life of this busy travelling doctor. He amasses millions of frequent traveler miles as he flies several times a week to bring patients back to their homes in England. From Tunis, to Cairo, the Canary Islands, St. Tropez, Barcelona, the Maldives, even Bulgaria our doctor-hero manages to enjoy flitting glimpses of these exotic holiday locales. We learn that he is doing this for more than just the travel miles and the sight-seeing. He truly cares about the people he escorts back home.

Drama and plenty of medical emergencies make for an engaging read. This book also has plenty of heart. Some of the stories have their funny moments and some are tender and sad. My favorite one is about a lovely elderly patient named Mrs. Dean. Heartbreaking.

The author concludes that he works with the best people in the world and he meets the most amazing people every day. He certainly communicates his passion for his work in this easy to read and entertaining book. Highly recommend.

Thanks to NetGalley and Thistle Publishing for an ARC. This is my honest review.

[Jannelies (living between hope and fear) · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a delightful insight in the lives of Ben MacFarlane and his colleagues. After having to organize a trip home for someone who went on a skiing holiday to Austria - and guess what happened - and had to return with two broken arms, I decided never ever to go on a trip without a good insurance. And glad I did, although I certainly hope never to need the help of Ben or one of his colleagues. I think they do a fantastic job and the book is very honest, in that we not only read about the excellent medical care Ben delivers, but also about the fears, the tiredness, the loneliness even that comes with this job.
But please, next time, choose another illustrator for a book like this? The cover is really not suitable for the book.
Thank you Neil Simpson for putting Ben's 'adventures' to paper so nicely.
Thank you Thistle Publishing and NetGalley for this review copy.

[Helen Costello · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED THIS BOOK! Don't be fooled by the daft title or the frivolous cover, this is a properly good read.
Dr Ben MacFarlane is a repatriation Doctor helping people return home to the UK after accidents or falling ill abroad. He is obviously very passionate about his job and writes so well about it. Perfect book for me with my obsession with medical memoirs and this is one of the best.
The stories he tells are the more serious ones - he has a lot of traumas and things don't always go as smoothly as expected on the return journey. I suspect that a lot of his journeys are not as exciting but there's no book in them is there?
The book does have some humour but not as laugh out loud as Adam Kay's This Is Going to Hurt. It is gruesome though so be aware!
Just a brilliant read - I hope he brings out another.

[Emmie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I truly hope there is another book in the pipeline. This is a field that I know very little of, so this book was absolutely fascinating.

I never knew that there were companies that contracted medical personnel to accompany very sick individuals. It seems both rewarding and extremely challenging at times.

This book reminded me a lot of the book Air Babylon. So if you liked that, then you will absolutely love this book.

A small warning. Some of the scenes described in the book are graphic. So if you are squeamish about blood and bodily functions read with caution.

Thank you to the publisher, Hodder & Stoughton, and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the third medical memoir I've read this year and I'm hooked.

It takes a special type of person to take on the sort of challenges that Dr Ben McFarlane faced as an insurance company doctor. I have absolute respect for anyone who works in medicine. But to perform emergency, life saving procedures at 35,000 feet, often alone, amid turbulence, with just the contents of a doctor's kit bag is nothing short of extraordinary.

I read at least half of the book with my mouth agape; mostly in shock of the horrific and heroic tales, but also when reading descriptions of the luxurious hotels and airlines that Dr McFarlane's employer sent him on.

Holiday SOS is a gripping, fast-paced read. I'm looking forward to his next book.

[Xanthi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know about travel insurance, even though I have never had to use it, but have never thought about what it entails - ie medical staff escorting you back home. This is what this book is about - a doctor bringing back people from overseas, who have had accidents and illnesses whilst on holidays or business trips.
It was an interesting read and at times kind of gruesome and icky, depending on what the author was dealing with. It sounds like a very stressful job, despite the 'perks' of travelling to exotic and distant places.
Although there is much tension and drama in the stories he has to tell, there is also a fair bit of humour, too.

[Gail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Holiday SOS is a diary written as a book, covering a year of the authors life. He jumps on planes, sometimes at short notice to repatriate those who have been taken ill abroad. It is an enjoyable and insightful tale which gives an interesting look at what goes on in his personal and professional life. You would certainly be in good hands if Ben was your repatriation doctor. I really enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it, particularly to anyone who has enjoyed Imogen Edwards Jones 'Babylon' series.

[Dee-Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It was humourous, adventurous and full of health scenarios and remedies which I did not know existed. This book is an account of a part of the career of a doctor whose role was to provide medical assistant and to accompany travellers back to Britain who had become injured/unwell whilst overseas. Each destination and patient was different and makes you think about the possibilities of what could go wrong on a holiday.

[Ladie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I took my time reading this since it is a memoir composed of vignettes that are easy to pick up after a period of time. I was fascinated by Dr.Macfarlane's unusual and interesting carrier as a doctor who is sent all over the world to assist patients who need to return to Britain after having a medical emergency abroad. The experiences he relates range from hair-raising to hilarious, I look forward to reading his second book, "Cruise Ship SOS."

[Nez · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars
This books seems interesting at the start, but half way in you realise that it is the same old same old and then it becomes a struggle to finish.

[Aunty Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting read, loved every page!

[Jonni · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s this an amazing book? No. But it’s very entertaining, heart warming, and just a really enjoyable read.