The hospital in which I am working is the largest in Belize and the referral centre for the region. It has approximately 115 beds. There is a medical ward, a surgical ward, maternity ward, medical admissions unit and A and E. On first impressions the hospital is surprisingly western, however, over the past two weeks I have found that they are lacking in funding and therefore in basic supplies and equipment. Patients have to pay for investigations (eg blood tests,...

We went to the Cayes this weekend and stayed on an island called Ambergris. It was beautiful, everything you would expect from a Caribbean island: clear blue sea, palm trees, and a chilled out atmosphere. We spent days chilling on the dock and swimming. We went out one night, but the night life wasn't as good as we hoped so the next night we took some rum down to the dock with some American lads we met at the hostel. On Saturday we went diving at a marine reserve...

I'm currently sat in the hospital library waiting for my consultant to arrive and tell me what I am doing for the next 5 weeks. The hospital looks pretty basic, but at least it has ceiling fans!! The weather is hot and humid, but inside the hospital it is quite cool. I am staying with a lady called Sylvia who lives about 10 mins walk from the hospital in the safe part of town. As well as me and Will there are three guys from Sheffield medical school - I know on...